Medical problems among prisoners

From a recent review in The Lancet:

More than 10 million people are incarcerated worldwide, and this number has increased by one million in the past decade.

Some of the major medical problems include:

- Mental disorders and infectious diseases are more common in prisoners
- High rates of suicide in prison
- Increased mortality on release

High risk groups among prisoners:

- women
- prisoners aged 55 years and older
- juveniles

References

The health of prisoners. The Lancet, Volume 377, Issue 9769, Pages 956 - 965, 12 March 2011.
“A very severe physical trial”. The Lancet, Volume 377, Issue 9769, Page 876, 12 March 2011.
It’s fashionable to treat social problems as if they were diseases. Can incarceration be thought of as disease? asks BMJ http://goo.gl/R6BNp

Comments from Twitter:

Courtney J Blair, MD ‏ @AllergistBlair: Thank you. I have a CVID pt going to prison for embezelment, this may help to get home incarceration.

Too much of a good thing? Excess fluoride in water supply causes dental problems

For the first time in nearly 50 years, the government is recommending lowering the fluoride in drinking water. Officials say many Americans are getting too much fluoride and it's causing some kids to have "splotchy" teeth. The AP's Kelly Daschle reports.

The US health department is recommending that water supplies contain 0.7 milligrams of fluoride per liter of water, replacing the current recommended range of 0.7 to 1.2 milligrams.

Learn how much fluoride is in your tap water. Call your local water municipality because the level varies from city to city. If it's above 0.7 milligrams per liter, you could consider filtering your water.

References:
U.S. Wants to Reduce Fluoride in Drinking Water. WebMD.