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Background: Increased C-reactive protein (CRP) concentration and insulin resistance (IR) are associated with increased rates of adverse cardiovascular events. We sought to examine the relationship of CRP with surrogate measures of IR among nondiabetic adults in the US., Methods: We conducted analyses using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999-2002. We analyzed a nationally representative sample of 2514 men and nonpregnant women age > or = 20 years who were non-Hispanic white, non-Hispanic black, or Mexican American., Results: After adjustment for age, sex, race/ethnicity, smoking status, systolic blood pressure, and serum concentrations of HDL cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and triglyceride, CRP was significantly associated with 10 IR measures (all P values <0.01). The strength of the association attenuated after further adjustment for waist circumference (change in adjusted regression coefficients ranging from 60.0% to 75.1%). The association of CRP with each IR surrogate was similar (standardized regression coefficient ranges from 0.06 to 0.09). The association of CRP (>3 vs <1 mg/L) with the homeostasis model for assessment of IR (> or = 75th vs <75th percentile) was statistically significant among people with a body mass index > or = 30 kg/m(2) (odds ratio, 2.6; 95% CI, 1.3-5.1) or with a body mass index <25 kg/m(2) (odds ratio, 2.5; 95% CI, 1.5-4.2)., Conclusions: CRP was significantly associated with the surrogate measures of IR among nondiabetic adults. Obesity may play an important role in the association of CRP with IR in this nationally representative sample.

Objectives: This study's objectives were to determine the national prevalence of anemia in pregnancy (AIP) in the United States, compare racial differences in the prevalence, compare the AIP risk factor profiles between non-Hispanic whites and non-Hispanic blacks, and to analyze the associations between AIP and some maternal and fetal/neonatal complications between whites and blacks., Methods: The data used were from the United States natality data files (1995 through 2000), which included 23,654,695 live births. All mothers diagnosed with AIP, defined as hemoglobin-concentration < 10 g/dl, were included. The cohorts were analyzed in two groups. The "whole group" (WG) comprised all women in the data set who had anemia status reported. The "low-risk group" (LRG) comprised women with low-risk factors for AIP. Race was determined by mothers' skin colors and racial self-identifications. Logistic regression was used to explore associations between race and AIP while controlling for other covariates., Results: The national prevalence of AIP among the general population was 21.55/1,000 among the WG and 11.51/1,000 among the LRG. Among the WG, the prevalence of AIP was two times higher among non-Hispanic blacks (35.38/1,000) than among non-Hispanic whites (18.02/1,000). Among the LRG, the prevalence was 1.94 times higher among non-Hispanic blacks (20.44/1,000) than among non-Hispanic whites (10.63/1,000). The other risk factor profiles for AIP were similar among the races. Many serious maternal and fetal/neonatal complications occurred more frequently among anemic patients when compared with non-anemic patients., Conclusions: The results of this study showed that black race was significantly associated with higher risk of AIP. The other risk factor profiles of AIP were significantly similar between whites and blacks. This study also confirmed that AIP was significantly associated with some serious maternal and fetal/neonatal complications. The findings of this study indicate that race is an important risk factor of AIP.

The association between the percent change in first-year and total underrepresented minority student enrollment and the presence of preadmission programs at Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) accredited medical schools was assessed before and during successful legal and legislative challenges to affirmative action. The percent change in under-represented minority student enrollment was determined by comparing enrollment data for the academic years 1993-94 and 1996-97. Schools were categorized as having either a negative or positive percent change in their enrollment of underrepresented minority students. Logistic regression was used to determine the association of the percent change in under-represented minority student enrollment and the presence of a preadmission program while controlling for schools' financial support and the presence of postbaccalaureate programs. Fifty-six percent of the included medical schools had preadmission programs. Schools with a positive percent change were significantly more likely to have preadmission programs compared with schools with a negative percent change. There was no association between the presence of preadmission programs and the percent change in total enrollment. These results indicate that the presence of preadmission programs is positively associated with increases in first-year underrepresented minority student enrollment during the successful challenges to affirmative actions.

Purpose: To assess the association between the presence of pre-admission programs directed at underrepresented minority (URM) students at medical schools accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) and the first-year and total enrollments of URM students during the 1993-94 academic year., Method: The authors ranked 119 LCME-accredited medical schools by the percentages of their first-year classes and total enrollments made up of URM students. They then compared the schools in three ways: (1) schools ranking above versus below the median in terms of numbers of URM students; (2) the top 25% versus the lower 75%; and (3) the top 25% versus the lowest 25%. Logistic regression was used to determine the association between the presence of pre-admission programs and URM enrollment., Results: Fifty-six percent of the medical schools had pre-admission programs. For both first-year and total enrollments, each comparison showed that schools ranked as having higher percentages of URM students (above the mean and in the top 25%) were more likely to have pre-admission programs than were the schools ranked lower (below the mean, lower 75%, and lowest 25%)., Conclusion: This study suggests that the presence of pre-admission programs is positively associated with enrollment of URM students at U.S. medical schools.

This article investigates the possible effects of minority status, presence of a Minority Affairs Office or Student National Medical Association (SNMA) Chapter, level of indebtedness, and number of years (4 to 5) to complete medical school on specialty choice of minority medical students. The 5-year experiences of 20 medical schools in the southern region (including three in Puerto Rico) were examined via a questionnaire. Information was sought for African Americans, Afro-Caribbean, Mexican American, other minority, and nonminority students. Minority graduates entered the specialities of internal medicine, pediatrics, and family medicine in far greater numbers than any other speciality. Also, the percentage of minorities who entered these fields was greater than the percentage of non-minorities. Conversely, minorities were significantly underrepresented in the surgical subspecialties and radiology. Additional study is needed to further examine the medical school experience for indications of why the clustering in primary care specialities occurs. Moreover, while most schools had some kind of minority affairs organization, few were active in the writing of the Dean's letter. Other suggestions to assure adequate minority representation across specialties include early exposure to the different specialties and subspecialties for minority students, a mentorship program with practicing physicians, and stronger recruitment of minorities into underrepresented specialties.