Several predisposing factors have been postulated, among them use of narcotics, alcohol and tobacco, having an unmarried mother, exposure to violence on television, high-risk sexual behaviour, dropping out of school, and membership in a youth gang. In an attempt to identify risk factors that might be amenable to preventive action, Falbo et al. Data were obtained by questionnaire and personal interview. The typical teenager at greatest risk of dying by homicide, the Recife study showed, has a police record and uses narcotic drugs. Teenagers who had completed their higher education, who had had a religious upbringing and whose father lived at home were at lowest risk.
Social workers take note, the authors urge.
They add that possession of firearms must also be a significant risk factor but was not picked up by the study because of gross underreporting by victims families fearful of legal repercussions. The merits of fixed-dose combination therapy for tuberculosis Multidrug therapy is the mainstay of the treatment of tuberculosis. Attacking the causative organism, Mycobacterium tuberculosis , with a battery of two to four drugs given under supervision, especially in the initial intensive stage of treatment, is now universally recognized as the only way of halting the spread of mycobacterial resistance to drugs. One problem, however, is that patients have to take 9 to 16 tablets a day, depending on body weight, for at least two months, followed by 3 to 9 tablets for the next 4 to 6 months. Many of them fail to stay the course, thereby favouring the development and consequent spread of mutant drug-resistant mycobacteria.