Welcome
The UCSF Center for Vulnerable Populations at San Francisco General Hospital carries out innovative research to prevent and treat chronic disease in populations for whom social conditions often conspire to both promote various chronic diseases and make their management more challenging. Founded in 2006, the CVP is based within the UCSF Department of Medicine, Division of General Internal Medicine and is located on the campus of San Francisco General Hospital. Beyond the local communities it serves, CVP is nationally and internationally known for its research in health communication and health policy to reduce health disparities, with special expertise in the social determinants of health, including literacy, food policy, poverty, and minority status, with a focus on the clinical conditions of pre-diabetes, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.
Consuming Only a Little Less Salt per Day Could Mean Fewer Heart Attacks, Deaths
New research from the CVP indicates reducing salt in the American diet by about ½ teaspoon (or about 3 grams) per day could prevent nearly 100,000 heart attacks and 92,000 deaths each year. These benefits are on par with the benefits from reductions in smoking and could save the U.S. up to $24 billion in healthcare costs. Click here for the joint UCSF and Columbia University press release and additional New York Times coverage.
Citation:
Bibbins-Domingo K, Chertow GM, Coxson PG, Moran AE, Lightwood JM, Pletcher MJ, Goldman L. Projected effect of dietary salt reductions on future cardiovascular disease. N Eng J Med 2010, Feb 18;362(7):650-2.
Updates
Hilary Seligman MD, MAS developed an issues brief for the California Diabetes Program entitled Food Insecurity and Diabetes Prevention and Control in California. » Read more
New Institute of Medicine Report recommends tighter regulation of dietary salt.» Read more
Washington Post: FDA readies first legal limits on amount of salt in foods. » Read more
The 2009 CVP Annual Report is now available! » Click here
CVP faculty members, Urmimala Sarkar, MD, MPH, Margaret Handley, PhD, Hilary Seligman, MD, MAS and Dean Schillinger, MD published an article in the Quality and Safety in Health Care journal. » Read more
CVP Predicts Future Economic and Health Burdens Related to Adolescent Overweight. » Read more
CVP Co-Director Invited as Visiting Professor at University of Texas Health Science Center. » Read more
CVP Director Receives 14th Annual George Engel Award. » Read more
CVP Faculty Member Joins National Patient Safety Advisory Council. » Read more