News to Live By - Fall 2010

Men, Women and Vaccines

Women often generate a more robust immune response to vaccination than men, according to a review of existing data from vaccine trials, published in the May issue of The Lancet Infectious Diseases. However, sex-specific data are often overlooked as predictors of vaccine response, notes lead author Sabra Klein, PhD, assistant professor in Molecular Microbiology and Immunology. Researchers report that a greater understanding of variations in vaccine response between men and women could lead to more efficient vaccination programs that optimize the timing and dose of vaccines to immunize the maximum number of people.

Alcohol Ads and Youth: Good and Bad News

Youth exposure to alcohol advertising in magazines declined by 48 percent between 2001 and 2008, indicating that alcohol companies have largely met the industry’s voluntary standard of not placing ads in magazines that have a youth readership of more than 30 percent, according to David Jernigan, PhD, director of the School’s Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth. However, the new study found that in 2008, 78 percent of youth exposure to alcohol ads occurred in magazines more likely to be read by youth between 12 and 20 than adults 21 and older.The study is based on an analysis of more than 29,000 alcohol ads in national magazines.

A Streetwise Strategy

In the first published peer-reviewed study of its kind, the School’s Center for Injury Research and Policyfound that the use of street outreach workers is an effective means of reaching out to and engaging youth with the goal of preventing violence, according to lead author Shannon Frattaroli, PhD, MPH, assistant professor in Health Policy and Management. Street outreach workers (who are often members of the community) intervene to prevent conflict and retaliation and, in some programs, connect individuals with needed services, such as housing and job training.The study was published in the Fall 2010 issue of Progress in Community Health Partnerships.