Internet Exercises

1. The National Center for Heath Statistics (http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/) is the U.S. government's principal vital and health statistics agency. Go to the center's website and link to Fast Facts A TO Z. Select arthritis and answer the following questions:

1. How many Americans have arthritis?
2. How many Americans over the age of 45 have arthritis?
3. In what region of the country is arthritis most prevalent?

2. The National Institute on Aging (http://www.nih.gov/nia/) is one of the leading agencies that studies aging, including diseases that affect the elderly. Go to its website and type "osteoporosis" in the search bar; then select Osteoporosis – Age Page – Health Information. Read the first three paragraphs of the document and answer the following questions:

1. Why is osteoporosis called the "silent disease"?
2. What does the inside of a normal bone look like? What does a bone with osteoporosis look like?
3. What are the causes of osteoporosis?
4. How many men and women over age 50 will sustain an osteoporosis-related fracture at some time in their lives?
5. Why are men at lower risk for osteoporosis than women?

3. The National Osteoporosis Foundation (http://www.nof.org/) is the leading nonprofit health organization dedicated to promoting bone health while working to find a cure for osteoporosis. From the homepage, click on "Osteoporosis" and read about the disease. Then answer the following questions.

1. How is osteoporosis defined?
2. What does osteoporosis do to the bones in the body?
3. Who is more likely to develop osteoporosis, men or women?

Click on "Disease Facts" and answer the following questions:

4. How many people are affected by osteoporosis?
5. List three facts that you found interesting about osteoporosis.

4. The Glaucoma Foundation (http://www.glaucoma-foundation.org/) is a not-for-profit organization that researches glaucoma and educates the public about the disease. Go to its website and link to About Glaucoma. Select "What is Glaucoma?" and answer the following questions:

1. Explain what glaucoma is.
2. Why is glaucoma called the "sneak thief of sight"?

Now go to the National Institutes of Health website (http://www.nih.gov/). Under Search the NIH Web Site, type in "glaucoma statistics" and link to MEDLINEplus Glaucoma. Select "Statistics" and answer the following questions:

3. List those groups who are at risk of developing glaucoma. Do you belong to any of those groups?
4. When should testing for glaucoma be done?
5. How many Americans over age 40 are estimated to have glaucoma?

Glaucoma is the leading cause of blindness for what racial/ethnic group?