This week is National Public Health Week (NPHW). The annual observance brings U.S. communities together to recognize the contributions of public health and highlight issues that are important to improving the public’s health. The theme for National Public Health Week (NPHW) 2013 — Public Health is ROI: Save Lives, Save Money – spotlights the value of prevention and the importance of well-supported public health systems in preventing disease, saving lives and curbing healthcare spending.
Even Healthy People Carry Hundreds of Genetic Flaws
Nobody’s perfect, not even the healthiest among us. Scientists from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute and Cardiff University have determined that, on average, a normal healthy person carries approximately 400 protein-damaging DNA mutations and two mutations directly linked with a high risk of disease. The research was published in the December 7th issue of The American Journal of Human Genetics [1].
![Hundreds of DNA mutations Hundreds of DNA mutations](https://www.highlighthealth.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/hundreds-of-dna-mutations.jpg)
The Burden of Disease: What Kills Us
Disease has changed over the last one hundred years. A Perspective 200th Anniversary Article in the New England Journal of Medicine compares the way Americans die today versus a century ago [1].
![Deaths: 1900 vs 2010 Deaths: 1900 vs 2010](https://www.highlighthealth.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/deaths-1900-vs-2010.jpg)