MISLEADING MEASUREMENTS MAY MEAN MISDIAGNOSIS

Routine measurement of blood pressure in people under 35 is more likely to misdiagnose hypertension than to do so correctly. After secondary analysis of a large dataset of individual patients’ blood pressure, it was found that correct diagnosis for treatment was highest in older people and lowest in younger people: of 36 men aged 16–34 who were classified as needing treatment, only 11 still did after secondary analysis. The author suggests that clinicians should therefore diagnose hypertension with caution in people aged under 35, as 10 year coronary risk rarely exceeds 5%. (

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CANADIAN CHILDREN, ELECTRICAL DEATH, AND INJURY

Male Canadian children are much more likely to be killed or injured by electricity than girls. In a survey of all electricity related deaths and injuries in Canada between 1991 and 1996, all but one of the 21 children killed by high voltage electrocution were male. Younger children (5–9 years) were more likely to die as a result of playing on or near electrical installations such as substations, while older victims were more likely to be killed while working in or around the …