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Many people have small pouches in their colons that bulge outward through weak spots. Each pouch is called a diverticulum. About 10% of Americans older than age 40 years have diverticulosis, which, when the pouches become infected or inflamed, is called diverticulitis. The main cause of diverticular disease is a low-fiber diet.
When blood is exposed to air, it clots. Heparin allows the blood to come in direct contact with air without clotting.
Illicit drug use costs the United States approximately $181 billion every year.
Asthma cases in Americans are about 75% higher today than they were in 1980.
Although puberty usually occurs in the early teenage years, the world's youngest parents were two Chinese children who had their first baby when they were 8 and 9 years of age.