Gun Violence and School Shootings

If you think you are hearing more about gun violence and school shootings, you are right. According to our Bolinas Assemblyman, Marc Levine, every day in the U.S. almost 300 people are shot in murders, assaults, suicides, suicide attempts and unintentional shootings, and almost 90 people die as a result of gun violence. According to a new study from Clemson University in South Carolina, more people have died or been injured in mass school shootings in the US in the past 18 years than in the entire 20^th century. This finding was published in the Journal of Child and Family Studies.

The recent killing of 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida is not an isolated occurrence, but part of a deadly epidemic that needs to be addressed. During the 20th century, mass school shootings killed 55 people and injured 260 others at schools especially in America's Western region. Most of the 25 shooters involved were white males who acted alone, and only nine were diagnosed as suffering from mental illnesses at the time. Sixty percent of shooters were between 11 and 18 years old.  

Since the start of the 21st century there have already been 13 incidents involving lone shooters; they have killed 66 people and injured 81 others. In less than 18 years, we have already seen more deaths related to school shootings than in the whole 20th century. One alarming trend is that the overwhelming majority of 21st-century shooters were adolescents, suggesting that it is now easier for them to access guns, and that they more frequently suffer from mental health issues or have limited conflict resolution skills.

The authors explain that such violence can be mitigated through deliberate and sensible policy and legislative actions. These include expanded background checks of potential gun owners, and a ban on assault weapons. Mental health issues among adolescent students and adults should also be addressed more thoroughly. School personnel should also implement tiered models of support and school-based mental health services to support students' social, emotional, and behavioral well-being in order to prevent school violence.

Preventative efforts not only require policy and legislative action but increased and targeted funding across federal, state, local and private sectors,, according to the authors. 

Our Assemblyman, Marc Levine, our State Senator Mike McGuire, our national Congressman Jared Huffman and California Senators Diane Feinstein and Kamala Harris are all actively in favor of gun control.  You can find their telephone numbers in the Bolinas Hearsay News Local Zone Phone Directory, so ably put together by Jenny Pfeiffer.  You can support the students nationwide who are demonstrating for gun control by working to register voters.  

Here are some national organizations to support with your donations if you are able: The Brady Campaign (honoring Jim Brady, shot and left disabled after an assassination attempt on Romald Reagan), Americans for Responsible Solutions (honoring former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, who was shot and left disabled while giving a talk in Arizona in 2011), Coalition to Stop Gun Violence ( a group of religious, labor and educational non-profits with thoughtful stands on stopping gun violence), Everytown for Gun Safety (an organization started by former NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg to counter the strength of the NRA and promote gun violence prevention nationwide).  Please look them up and decide how to give your support.  Any amount will be helpful.

Sadja Greenwood MD, MPH past issues on this blog

Who is Dr. Bennet Omalu?

 You are doubtless aware of the serious unrest occurring in Sacramento following an independent autopsy performed on 22 year old Stephon Clark.  The autopsy showed that Clark, who was in this grandmother’s back yard, carrying a cell phone, was shot eight times in the back by police officers. You may not know the remarkable story and credentials of the man who performed this autopsy, Dr. Bennet Omalu

 Omalu was born in Nigeria in 1968, the 6^thof 7 siblings.  He entered school at 3 and went to Medical School at 16.  After doing 3 years of medical service in Nigeria, he became disillusioned with the politics of his country and looked for further training in the U.S. He completed a fellowship in epidemiology at the University of Washington, and then went to work at the Columbia University Harlem Hospital Center in New York, completing residency training in anatomic and clinical pathology.  In Pittsburgh he completed fellowships in pathology and neuropathology, gained a Master of Public Health degree in epidemiology and an MBA at Carnegie Mellon University.   Omalu became the chief medical examiner in San Joaquin County, California from 2007 to 2017. He resigned after accusing the county’s sheriff of repeatedly interfering with death investigations in order to protect police officers who had killed suspects.  Currently he is a Professor at the UC Davis Department of Medical Pathology and Laboratory Medicine. 

Omalu became interested in chronic traumatic encephalopathy  (CTE) after doing an autopsy on the Pittsburgh Steeler Mike Webster in in 2002.  He found ‘tau protein’ in the brain – that affects mood, emotions and executive functions. These findings had previously been seen in boxers.  He published his findings in the journal Neurosurgery in 2005.  The National Football League called unsuccessfully for the article’s retraction. Omalu published similar findings on at least 5 other NFL players who died in their 30’s and 40’s.  He also discovered CTE in the brains of military veterans.   In 2016 the National Football League testified before Congress that they did believe in a link between football and CTE.

A book entitled Concussion, by Jeanne Marie Laskas, was published in 2015. It was made into a riveting movie, Concussion, with Will Smith playing the part of Omalu. Omalu has written several books – his latest is Truth Doesn’t Have a Side: My Alarming Discovery about the Dangers of Contact Sports.  He defines contact sports as football, ice hockey, mixed martial arts, boxing, wrestling and rugby.  Non-contact sports include swimming, tennis, track and field, volleyball, basketball, table tennis and badminton. Soccer is all right if  ‘headers’ are banned.   Steer your children into these.

The name Omalu is a shortened version of the family name Onyemalukwube, which means “He who knows, speaks”.  Dr. Omalu became a U.S. citizen in 2015; fortunately before Trump’s restrictions on nonwhite immigrants.  He received the Distinguished Service Award from the American Medical Association in 2016 – its highest honor.  

The take home messages for readers of this column – Protect your brain and your children’s brains from repeated blows to the head.  Insist that soccer be played without  headers. The brain is what makes you – you. Keep it safe.

Watch the movie Concussion if you haven’t seen it.

Sadja Greenwood, MD, MPH   past issues on this blog

Phthalates – what are they, and what you can do to avoid them

Phthalates are chemical substances widely used in plastics to increase their flexibility, transparency, and durability.  They are of concern because recent studies have shown that they may affect human health by being endocrine disruptors.  This means that they may affect the fetus during pregnancy, and my also be implicated in reduced fertility, obesity, diabetes, endometriosis and some cancers.  There is concern that the development of the male fetus and male fertility may be especially affected.  

A recent study from the University of California in Berkeley and San Francisco, and George Washington University,found that people who ate out more regularly tended to have significantly higher levels of phthalates in their urine.  Researchers looked at people consuming food from restaurants, cafeterias, fast-food locations, or other dining establishments. They analyzed data on 10,253 people who were 6 years and older that was collected from 2005 to 2014 as part of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). This data included phthalate concentrations from their urine samples and the frequency at which they ate out versus at home. Those who regularly ate out had 35% higher phthalate levels than those who did not. This difference was even higher for adolescents: 55%. The culprit didn't seem to be the core ingredients of the food, but possibly something involved in the preparation of the food. For example, the study revealed that eating sandwiches (including cheeseburgers) prepared outside the home was associated with higher urine phthalate levels compared to eating sandwiches prepared at home. Many eating establishments use plastic containers, machine parts, packaging, and other items to handle, process, and store food. Phthalates are chemicals used in many plastic items to help them become more flexible. Therefore, phthalates may be leeching from all of these plastic items into the food that subsequently goes into your mouth.   

Here are some ways to decrease your exposure to plastics, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council . You can’t eliminate all plastic, but you can take some easy steps to reduce your plastic use. Swap plastic food storage containers with glass or stainless steel; if you do keep plastic ones, don’t use them to store fatty foods, and never microwave them. Replace plastic bags with reusable lunch bags, and plastic cling wrap with beeswax-coated cloth. Choose hard wood blocks and cotton baby dolls over plastic ones. In short, anytime you’re in the market for something plastic, research whether safer alternatives exist. Canned foods can make meal prep a breeze, but those cans are likely lined with BPA to keep them from corroding. Even cans labeled “BPA-free” may use a similar chemical that hasn’t been proved any safer. Choosing fresh, frozen, or dried foods (like beans) that aren’t packaged in cans is a smart preventive measure. Aseptic “brick” cartons or glass packaging are both better than cans.  Finally – eat at home!

Sadja Greenwood, MD, MPH