School Notes: School of Public Health
November/December 2009

Overdose deaths widespread in Connecticut

More than 2,200 people have died in Connecticut from opioid overdoses in the past 11 years—an average of more than one every other day—according to a survey of state medical records by the Yale School of Public Health (YSPH). The study results show that even in an affluent state like Connecticut, death from opioid overdose is a widespread problem that is not limited to inner cities.

Scrutiny of records at the office of the chief medical examiner found that only 22 of Connecticut's 169 towns did not have a reported overdose death during this period and that there was a surprisingly high prevalence of overdose deaths in parts of Litchfield, Middlesex, and Windham counties, as well as in the state's major urban centers. "The findings illustrate the need for educational programs and active intervention to prevent and respond to opioid overdoses," said Robert Heimer ’88PhD, a YSPH professor and the study's lead investigator.

Health map of New Haven neighborhoods created

In an effort to battle chronic diseases in New Haven, six of the Elm City's neighborhoods were mapped last summer to identify factors that are healthy or unhealthy in the city. The "asset mapping" is the first phase of a larger, long-term research project, spearheaded locally by CARE: Community Alliance for Research and Engagement at Yale University, to reverse chronic disease trends and promote a healthier city. CARE's director is YSPH professor Jeannette Ickovics. The mapping project pinpoints healthy neighborhood resources—such as parks, certain food vendors, and fitness centers—as well as unhealthy features like fast food restaurants and polluted sites. Once the health map is complete, city residents in the same neighborhoods will be surveyed about their existing health and health habits, and proposals will be suggested to reverse disease trends.

Lyme bacterium, once nearly eradicated, rebounded with forests

In post-colonial America, Lyme disease was isolated to a few islands along the Northeast coast and pockets in Wisconsin and Minnesota. But a new genetic analysis of the Lyme bacterium by Yale researchers shows that the tick-borne disease roared back after reforestation in this part of the country.

The findings, reported recently in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, show that Lyme spread from the Northeast to the Midwest thousands of years ago. Deforestation eliminated the deer that host Lyme-carrying ticks, and the range of the disease was dramatically decreased. "The current epidemic of Lyme disease is the result of infected ticks expanding their range independently from these isolated refuges," said Durland Fish, professor of epidemiology and the paper's senior author.