The rare disease definition was needed to establish which conditions would qualify for the new incentive programs. Other countries have their own official definitions of a rare disease. In the European Union, a disease is defined as rare when it affects fewer than 1 in 2, people. How many rare diseases are there? There may be as many as 7, rare diseases. The total number of Americans living with a rare disease is estimated at between million. This estimate has been used by the rare disease community for several decades to highlight that while individual diseases may be rare, the total number of people with a rare disease is large.
In the United States, only a few types of rare diseases are tracked when a person is diagnosed. These include certain infectious diseases, birth defects, and cancers. It also includes the diseases on state newborn screening tests. Because most rare diseases are not tracked, it is hard to determine the exact number of rare diseases or how many people are affected.
If you are looking for statistics on a specific disease, check to see if the disease is listed in MedlinePlus Genetics or GeneReviews. These resources usually include statistical information. To find medical journal articles with statistics, you can conduct a PubMed search using the disease name and the word "prevalence" or "incidence. There are many different causes of rare diseases. The majority are thought to be genetic, directly caused by changes in genes or chromosomes. In some cases, genetic changes that cause disease are passed from one generation to the next.
In other cases, they occur randomly in a person who is the first in a family to be diagnosed. Many rare diseases, including infections, some rare cancers, and some autoimmune diseases, are not inherited. These statistics—together with other economic data—can be used by policymakers to determine whether measures should be taken to influence the future course of the economy or to aid those affected by joblessness.
Department of Labor announces the total number of employed and unemployed people in the United States for the previous month, along with many characteristics about them. These figures, particularly the unemployment rate—which tells you the percentage of the labor force that is unemployed—receive wide coverage in the media. Some people think that to get these figures on unemployment, the government uses the number of people collecting unemployment insurance UI benefits under state or federal government programs.
But some people are still jobless when their benefits run out, and many more are not eligible at all or delay or never apply for benefits. So, quite clearly, UI information cannot be used as a source for complete information on the number of unemployed.
Other people think that the government counts every unemployed person each month. To do this, every home in the country would have to be contacted—just as in the population census every 10 years. This procedure would cost way too much and take far too long to produce the data. In addition, people would soon grow tired of having a census taker contact them every month, year after year, to ask about job-related activities. Because unemployment insurance records relate only to people who have applied for such benefits, and since it is impractical to count every unemployed person each month, the government conducts a monthly survey called the Current Population Survey CPS to measure the extent of unemployment in the country.
In , the U. Census Bureau took over responsibility for the CPS. The survey has been expanded and modified several times since then. In , for instance, the CPS underwent a major redesign in order to computerize the interview process as well as to obtain more comprehensive and relevant information. There are about 60, eligible households in the sample for this survey.
This translates into approximately , individuals each month, a large sample compared to public opinion surveys, which usually cover fewer than 2, people. In order to select the sample, all of the counties and independent cities in the country first are grouped into approximately 2, geographic areas sampling units.
The Census Bureau then designs and selects a sample of about of these geographic areas to represent each state and the District of Columbia. The sample is a state-based design and reflects urban and rural areas, different types of industrial and farming areas, and the major geographic divisions of each state. Every month, one-fourth of the households in the sample are changed, so that no household is interviewed for more than 4 consecutive months.
After a household is interviewed for 4 consecutive months, it leaves the sample for 8 months, and then is again interviewed for the same 4 calendar months a year later, before leaving the sample for good. As a result, approximately 75 percent of the sample remains the same from month to month and 50 percent remains the same from year to year. This procedure strengthens the reliability of estimates of month-to-month and year-to-year change in the data.
Each month, highly trained and experienced Census Bureau employees contact the 60, eligible sample households and ask about the labor force activities jobholding and job seeking or non-labor force status of the members of these households during the survey reference week usually the week that includes the 12th of the month.
These are live interviews conducted either in person or over the phone. During the first interview of a household, the Census Bureau interviewer prepares a roster of the household members, including key personal characteristics such as age, sex, race, Hispanic ethnicity, marital status, educational attainment, veteran status, and so on. The information is collected using a computerized questionnaire.
Each person is classified according to their activities during the reference week. Then, the survey responses are "weighted," or adjusted to independent population estimates from the Census Bureau. The weighting takes into account the age, sex, race, Hispanic ethnicity, and state of residence of the person, so that these characteristics are reflected in the proper proportions in the final estimates. A sample is not a total count, and the survey may not produce the same results that would be obtained from interviewing the entire population.
But the chances are 90 out of that the monthly estimate of unemployment from the sample is within about , of the figure obtainable from a total census. Relative to total unemployment—which ranged between about 7 and 15 million over the past decade—the possible error resulting from sampling is not large enough to distort the total unemployment picture. Because these interviews are the basic source of data for total unemployment, information must be correct and consistent. Survey respondents are never asked specifically if they are unemployed, nor are they given an opportunity to decide their own labor force status.
Their status will be determined based on how they respond to a specific set of questions about their recent activities. Similarly, interviewers do not decide the respondents' labor force classification. They simply ask the questions in the prescribed way and record the answers. Based on information collected in the survey and definitions programmed into the computer, individuals are then classified as employed, unemployed, or not in the labor force.
All interviews must follow the same procedures to obtain comparable results. Because of the crucial role interviewers have in the household survey, a considerable amount of time and effort is spent maintaining the quality of their work.
Interviewers are given intensive training, including classroom lectures, discussion, practice, observation, home-study materials, and on-the-job training. At least once a year, they attend day-long training and review sessions. Also, at least once a year, they are accompanied by a supervisor during a full day of interviewing to determine how well they carry out their assignments.
The survey excludes people living in institutions for example, a correctional institution or a residential nursing or mental health care facility and those on active duty in the Armed Forces. The survey is designed so that each person age 16 and over there is no upper age limit is counted and classified in only one group. The sum of the employed and the unemployed constitutes the civilian labor force.
People not in the labor force combined with those in the civilian labor force constitute the civilian noninstitutional population 16 years and over. Under these concepts, most people are quite easily classified. For example, consider these fictional scenarios:. Elena reported to the interviewer that last week she worked 40 hours as a sales manager for a beverage company. Elena is employed. Steve lost his job when the local plant of an aircraft manufacturing company closed down.
Since then, he has been contacting other businesses in town trying to find a job. Steve is unemployed. Linda is a stay-at-home mother.
Last week, she was occupied with her normal household activities. She neither held a job nor looked for a job. Her year-old father who lives with her has not worked or looked for work because of a disability.
Linda and her father are not in the labor force. People are considered employed if they did any work at all for pay or profit during the survey reference week.
This includes all part-time and temporary work, as well as regular full-time, year-round employment. Individuals also are counted as employed if they have a job at which they did not work during the survey week, whether they were paid or not, because they were:. These people are counted among the employed and tabulated separately as with a job but not at work , because they have a specific job to which they will return.
Not all of the wide range of job situations in the American economy fit neatly into a given category, however. What about the two following cases? Both Garrett and Lisa are considered employed. They fall into a group called unpaid family workers , which includes any person who worked without pay for 15 hours or more per week in a business or farm operated by a family member with whom they live.
Unpaid family workers comprise a small proportion of total employment. Most of the employed are either wage and salary workers paid employees or self-employed working in their own business, profession, or farm. In addition to estimating the number of employed people, the survey collects information about the job characteristics of the employed. People are classified as unemployed if they do not have a job, have actively looked for work in the prior 4 weeks, and are currently available for work.
Actively looking for work may consist of any of the following activities:. Passive methods of job search do not have the potential to connect job seekers with potential employers and therefore do not qualify as active job search methods.
Examples of passive methods include attending a job training program or course, or merely reading about job openings that are posted in newspapers or on the Internet.
Workers expecting to be recalled from temporary layoff are counted as unemployed whether or not they have engaged in a specific job seeking activity. In all other cases, the individual must have been engaged in at least one active job search activity in the 4 weeks preceding the interview and be available for work except for temporary illness. The questions used in the interviews are carefully designed to obtain the most accurate picture of each person's labor force activities.
Some of the major questions that determine employment status are as follows the bolded words are emphasized when read by the interviewers. Does anyone in this household have a business or a farm? Last week , did you do any work for either pay or profit? If the answer to question 1 is "yes" and the answer to question 2 is "no," the next question is: Last week , did you do any unpaid work in the family business or farm? For those who reply "no" to both questions 2 and 3, the next key questions used to determine employment status are: Last week , in addition to the business did you have a job, either full or part time?
Include any job from which you were temporarily absent. Last week , were you on layoff from a job? What was the main reason you were absent from work last week? For those who respond "yes" to question 5 about being on layoff, the following questions are asked: Has your employer given you a date to return to work? If "no," the next question is: Have you been given any indication that you will be recalled to work within the next 6 months?
They are often used and misused in search of a "high," or to boost energy, to improve performance at work or school, or to lose weight or control appetite. Club drugs are commonly used at clubs, concerts and parties.
These drugs are not all in the same category, but they share some similar effects and dangers, including long-term harmful effects. Because GHB and flunitrazepam can cause sedation, muscle relaxation, confusion and memory loss, the potential for sexual misconduct or sexual assault is associated with the use of these drugs. Use of hallucinogens can produce different signs and symptoms, depending on the drug.
Signs and symptoms of inhalant use vary, depending on the substance. Some commonly inhaled substances include glue, paint thinners, correction fluid, felt tip marker fluid, gasoline, cleaning fluids and household aerosol products. Due to the toxic nature of these substances, users may develop brain damage or sudden death.
Opioids are narcotic, painkilling drugs produced from opium or made synthetically. This class of drugs includes, among others, heroin, morphine, codeine, methadone and oxycodone. Sometimes called the "opioid epidemic," addiction to opioid prescription pain medications has reached an alarming rate across the United States. Some people who've been using opioids over a long period of time may need physician-prescribed temporary or long-term drug substitution during treatment.
If your drug use is out of control or causing problems, get help. The sooner you seek help, the greater your chances for a long-term recovery. Talk with your primary doctor or see a mental health professional, such as a doctor who specializes in addiction medicine or addiction psychiatry, or a licensed alcohol and drug counselor. If you're not ready to approach a doctor, help lines or hotlines may be a good place to learn about treatment.
You can find these lines listed on the internet or in the phone book. People struggling with addiction usually deny that their drug use is problematic and are reluctant to seek treatment. An intervention presents a loved one with a structured opportunity to make changes before things get even worse and can motivate someone to seek or accept help.
An intervention should be carefully planned and may be done by family and friends in consultation with a doctor or professional such as a licensed alcohol and drug counselor, or directed by an intervention professional. It involves family and friends and sometimes co-workers, clergy or others who care about the person struggling with addiction.
During the intervention, these people gather together to have a direct, heart-to-heart conversation with the person about the consequences of addiction and ask him or her to accept treatment.
Like many mental health disorders, several factors may contribute to development of drug addiction. The main factors are:. Physical addiction appears to occur when repeated use of a drug changes the way your brain feels pleasure. The addicting drug causes physical changes to some nerve cells neurons in your brain.
Neurons use chemicals called neurotransmitters to communicate. These changes can remain long after you stop using the drug. People of any age, sex or economic status can become addicted to a drug. Certain factors can affect the likelihood and speed of developing an addiction:.
Drug use can have significant and damaging short-term and long-term effects. Taking some drugs can be particularly risky, especially if you take high doses or combine them with other drugs or alcohol. Here are some examples. The best way to prevent an addiction to a drug is not to take the drug at all.
If your doctor prescribes a drug with the potential for addiction, use care when taking the drug and follow the instructions provided by your doctor. Doctors should prescribe these medications at safe doses and amounts and monitor their use so that you're not given too great a dose or for too long a time. If you feel you need to take more than the prescribed dose of a medication, talk to your doctor.
Once you've been addicted to a drug, you're at high risk of falling back into a pattern of addiction.
If you do start using the drug, it's likely you'll lose control over its use again — even if you've had treatment and you haven't used the drug for some time.
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