The likelihood of rupture of unruptured intracranial aneurysms that were less than 10 mm in diameter was exceedingly low among patients in group 1 and was substantially higher among those in group 2. The risk of morbidity and mortality related to surgery greatly exceeded the 7.5-year risk of rupture among patients in group 1 with unruptured intracranial aneurysms smaller than 10 mm in diameter.

Hispanic immigrants are increasingly residing in rural communities, including in the midwestern United States. Limitations in the ability of rural Hispanics to access and utilize health care contribute to patterns of poor health and health disparity. A conceptual model of "vulnerability" guides this community-based participatory assessment project designed to explore rural Hispanics' perceived barriers to accessing and utilizing health care. Findings from a series of 19 focus groups with 181 participants from three communities in the upper Midwest identified perceived barriers at the individual and health care system levels. The most commonly perceived barriers were the lack of and limitations in health insurance coverage, high costs of health care services, communication issues involving patients and providers, legal status/discrimination, and transportation concerns. Findings imply that these barriers could be addressed using multiple educational and health service delivery policy-related strategies that consider the vulnerable nature of this growing population.

A randomized and stratified investigation was conducted into the epidemiology of stuttering in the community across the entire life span. Persons from households in the state of New South Wales, Australia, were asked to participate in a telephone interview. Consenting persons were given a brief introduction to the research, and details were requested concerning the number and age of the persons living in the household at the time of the interview. Interviewees were then given a description of stuttering. Based on this description, they were asked if any person living in their household stuttered (prevalence). If they answered "yes," a number of corroborative questions were asked, and permission was requested to tape over the telephone the speech of the person who stutters. Confirmation of stuttering was based on (a) a positive detection of stuttering from the tape and (b) an affirmative answer to at least one of the corroborative questions supporting the diagnosis. Results showed that the prevalence of stuttering over the whole population was 0.72%, with higher prevalence rates in younger children (1.4-1.44) and lowest rates in adolescence (0.53). Male-to-female ratios ranged from 2.3:1 in younger children to 4:1 in adolescence, with a ratio of 2.3:1 across all ages. The household member being interviewed was also asked whether anyone in the household had ever stuttered. If the answer was "yes," the same corroborative questions were asked. These data, along with the prevalence data, provided an estimate of the incidence or risk of stuttering, which was found to range from 2.1% in adults (21-50 years) to 2.8% in younger children (2-5 years) and 3.4% in older children (6-10 years). Implications of these results are discussed.

Global CHD risk information seems to improve the accuracy of risk perception and may increase intent to initiate CHD prevention among individuals at moderate to high risk. The effect of global risk presentation on more distal outcomes is less clear and seems to be related to the intensity of accompanying interventions.

Although heavy episodic drinkers are at risk to experience alcohol-related consequences, studies show that a large percentage of student drinkers do not experience problems as a result of their drinking. The present study was a more in-depth examination of factors beyond just drinking quantity and frequency to explain why students experience consequences. The current research examined the relationship between the use of protective behaviors, alcohol use, and alcohol related consequences, as well as the relationship between attitudinal and cognitive predictors of engaging in protective behaviors when drinking. We hypothesized there would be a significant direct effect of protective behaviors on consequences after taking into account the effect of alcohol use and that cognitive predictors, including perceived self-efficacy, perceived effectiveness, and subjective norm, would be associated with the attitude and frequency of engaging in protective behaviors. Results supported both hypotheses, indicating good model fit for all models and significant paths between constructs (ps < .05). These findings extend the literature on protective behaviors by providing insight as to their utility in preventing harm and why students choose to engage in these behaviors. Implications for interventions are also discussed.