In a study of women’s health around the globe, the World Health Organization (WHO) found that the AIDS virus is the leading cause of death and disease in women between the ages of 15 and 44, according to an Associated Press story.

The full report, Women and health: Today’s evidence tomorrow’s agenda, is available online from WHO.

“Lower fertility is changing the world for the better,” according to an article in The Economist.

A preliminary 2008-2009 Demographic and Health Surveys report shows that Kenya’s fertility rate has decline slightly, from 4.9 births per woman in 2003 to 4.6, according to an article from the Daily Nation (Kenya).

Data from the 2008-2009 survey is not yet available.

A study using data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) found that nearly half of American children and 90% of black kids will be on food stamps at some point. See the Associated Press story.

Source: Rank, M.R., & Hirschl, T.A. (2009). Estimating the Risk of Food Stamp Use and Impoverishment During Childhood. Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine. 163(11):994-999.

TIME Magazine features research by nutritionists using Add Health Romantic Pairs data showing that married people are much more likely than those who are dating to gain weight.

See also: The, N. S., & Gordon-Larsen, P. (2009). Entry into romantic partnership is associated with obesity. Obesity.

New versions of all data in the National Longitudinal Study of Youth 1979 (NLSY79) Children and Young Adults collection have been updated in SodaPop. These files were released on Jan. 18, 2009.

The Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) 2008 Wave 1 core data is now available in SodaPop.

Penn State researchers can download SIPP data and documentation from the SodaPop web site.

PRI researchers may also access data files on our network using Windows or UNIX. Click on the “pri affiliates” tab on the SodaPop page for file locations.

The September 2009 supplement to Journal of Adolescent Health is themed Adolescent Obesity: Towards Evidence-Based Policy and Environmental Solutions, and is available for free on the journal’s web site.

The TIMSS 2007 U.S. Technical Report and User Guide provides an overview of the design and implementation of the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2007 in the United States, along with information designed to facilitate access to the U.S. TIMSS 2007 data.

High School Dropout and Completion Rates in the United States: 2007 – provides estimates for 2007 and trend data for 1972-2007.

Projections of Education Statistics to 2018 – includes statistics on enrollment, graduates, teachers, and expenditures in elementary and secondary schools, and enrollment and earned degrees conferred expenditures of degree-granting institutions.