Aboriginal Population (aboriginal + population)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Trends in chronic disease mortality in the Northern Territory Aboriginal population, 1997-2004: using underlying and multiple causes of death

AUSTRALIAN AND NEW ZEALAND JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH, Issue 6 2009
Emily Fearnley
Abstract Objective: To assess trends in chronic disease mortality in the Aboriginal population of the Northern Territory (NT), using both underlying and multiple causes of death. Method: Death registration data from 1997 to 2004, were used for the analysis of deaths from five chronic diseases; ischaemic heart disease (IHD), diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), renal failure and stroke. Negative binomial regression models were used to estimate the average annual change in mortality rates for each of the five diseases. Chi squared tests were conducted to determine associations between the five diseases. Results: The five chronic diseases contributed to 49.3% of all Aboriginal deaths in the NT. The mortality rate ratio of NT Aboriginal to all Australian death rates from each of the diseases ranged from 4.3 to 13.0, with the lowest rate ratio for stroke and highest for diabetes. There were significant statistical associations between IHD, diabetes, renal failure and stroke. The mortality rates for diabetes, COPD and stroke declined at estimated annual rates for NT Aboriginal males of 3.6%, 1.0% and 11.7% and for Aboriginal females by 3.5%, 6.1% and 7.1% respectively. There were increases in mortality rates for Aboriginal males and females for IHD and a mixed result for renal failure. Conclusion: NT Aboriginal people experience high chronic disease mortality, however, mortality rates appear to be declining for diabetes, COPD and stroke. The impact of chronic disease on mortality is greater than previously reported by using a single underlying cause of death. The results highlight the importance of integrated chronic disease interventions. [source]


Case for mandatory fortification of food with folate in Australia, for the prevention of neural tube defects

BIRTH DEFECTS RESEARCH, Issue 11 2004
Carol Bower
BACKGROUND Since the publication of randomized controlled trials demonstrating the prevention of neural tube defects (NTDs) with periconceptional folate, several Australian states have promoted an increase in periconceptional use of folic acid supplements. Since 1996, voluntary fortification of food with folate has been allowed in Australia and New Zealand for the purpose of preventing NTDs. METHODS For this report, we synthesized published and unpublished data on folic acid supplement use, voluntary fortification, and trends in NTDs. RESULTS There has been an increase in the proportion of women (up to 30,40%) taking periconceptional folic acid supplements in Australia, and many foods (mainly breakfast cereals) are fortified. Supplement use is strongly correlated with educational and socioeconomic status; consumption of voluntarily fortified foods is not. There has been a fall in NTDs of about 30% in the non-Aboriginal population, but no change has been seen in the Aboriginal population. CONCLUSIONS These data support mandatory fortification of food as a more equitable approach to achieving sufficient folate intake in the periconceptional period for all women in Australia and New Zealand to prevent the majority of NTDs in their offspring. In May 2004, based on these and other considerations, the Australia and New Zealand Food Regulation Ministerial Council agreed that mandatory fortification of food with folate should be considered as a priority. Birth Defects Research (Part A), 2004. © 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]


Central corneal thickness and glaucoma in the Australian Aboriginal population

CLINICAL & EXPERIMENTAL OPHTHALMOLOGY, Issue 8 2007
David A Mackey MD FRANZCO
No abstract is available for this article. [source]


Rheumatic disease in the Australian Aborigine of Cape York Peninsula: a 1965 study

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RHEUMATIC DISEASES, Issue 3 2004
William Alexander DOUGLAS
Abstract Aim:, To study the prevalence of rheumatic disorders in two Aboriginal populations on the western coast of Cape York Peninsula. Methods:, Physical and radiological examination of 217 adult Aborigines at Aurukun Aboriginal Mission and 71 Aboriginal adults at Weipa Mission. The study was performed in October 1965. Results:, Mild to moderate degenerative arthritis was not uncommon in the populations examined. However, generalised or nodal osteoarthritis was not seen. One young woman had definite sero-positive rheumatoid arthritis. This woman's appearance suggested some Torres Strait Islander influence. No case of gouty arthritis or classical ankylosing spondylitis was encountered. An incidental finding of retrospective interest was that the calculated body mass index showed that the majority of adults were underweight by Caucasian standards. Conclusions:, These findings are of historic interest given the health impacts of social, cultural and environmental circumstances of Aborigines currently reported. [source]


An integrative review of Canadian childhood obesity prevention programmes

OBESITY REVIEWS, Issue 1 2007
S. Conroy
Summary To examine successful Canadian nursing and health promotion intervention programmes for childhood obesity prevention during gestation and infancy, an integrative review was performed of the literature from 1980 to September 2005. The following databases were used: PubMed; Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews; Cochrane Controlled Trials Register; Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects; ACP Journal Club; MEDLINE; EMBASE; CINAHL; Web of Science; Scopus; Sociological Abstracts; Sport Discus; PsycInfo; ERIC and HealthStar. MeSH headings included: infancy (0,24 months), gestation, gestational diabetes, nutrition, prenatal care, pregnancy, health education, pregnancy outcome, dietary services with limits of Canadian, term birth. Of 2028 articles found, six Canadian childhood obesity prevention programmes implemented during gestation and/or infancy were found; three addressed gestational diabetes with five targeting low-income Canadian urban and/or Aboriginal populations. No intervention programmes specifically aimed to prevent childhood obesity during gestation or infancy. This paucity suggests that such a programme would be innovative and much needed in an effort to stem the alarming increase in obesity in children and adults. Any attempts either to develop new approaches or to replicate interventions used with obese adults or even older children need careful evaluation and pilot testing prior to sustained use within the perinatal period. [source]


Social contexts, syndemics, and infectious disease in northern Aboriginal populations,

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF HUMAN BIOLOGY, Issue 2 2007
D. Ann Herring
Until the last half of the 20th century, infectious diseases dominated the health profile of northern North American Aboriginal communities. Research on the 1918 influenza pandemic exemplifies some of the ways in which the social context of European contact and ensuing economic developments affected the nature of infectious disease ecology as well as the frequency and severity of the problem. To understand these impacts it is necessary to consider the web of interactions among multiple pathogens, the biology of the human host, and the social environment in which people lived. At the very least, an understanding of the history of the impact of infectious diseases on northern North American communities requires attention not only to potential interactions among cocirculating pathogens, but their links to key social, historical, and economic factors that exacerbated their adverse effects and contributed to excess mortality. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 19:190,202, 2007. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]


CENTRAL AUSTRALIAN NURSE MANAGEMENT MODEL (CAN MODEL): A STRATEGIC APPROACH TO THE RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION OF REMOTE-AREA NURSES

AUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF RURAL HEALTH, Issue 1 2000
Melanie Van Haaren
This paper introduces a new strategic approach, the Central Australian Nurse Management Model (CAN Model), to manage remote area nursing services. Central Australia is home to approximately 45 000 people, of whom 30% are Aborigines with a health status that is markedly lower than the rest of the population. While the Federal, State and Territory governments have policies in place to address health inequities, improvement has been hindered by the difficulty in recruiting and retaining suitable nursing staff in remote areas. Implementation of the three key initiatives that comprise the CAN Model has succeeded in attracting, stabilising and skilling a remote area nursing workforce, fundamental to achieving better health outcomes in Aboriginal populations. [source]


Prevalence of obesity in Canada

OBESITY REVIEWS, Issue 3 2005
F. Bélanger-Ducharme
Summary Excess weight represents a critical and common health problem in Canada. The last survey of a national representative sample based on measured anthropometrics has been conducted in 1992. According to surveys using measured data, the prevalence of obesity (body mass index, BMI = 30.0 kg m,2) between 1970 and 1992 for those aged 20,69 years increased from 8% to 13% in men and 13% to 15% in women. The proportion of Canadians displaying a BMI ,25.0 kg m,2 increased from 47% to 58% in men and from 34% to 41% in women in the same period. The most recent prevalence estimates from self-reported data in a national representative sample indicated that 15% of the adult population (,18 years) was affected by obesity, while an additional 33% was classified in the overweight category (BMI 25.0,29.9 kg m,2) in 2003. However, it has been suggested that self-reported height and weight underestimate the prevalence of obesity by approximately 10%. Canadian children, aboriginal populations, and immigrants are some of the vulnerable groups particularly at risk of excess weight or for which the increase in the recent decades has been greater than the national increase. The increases in overweight and obesity over the past 30 years among Canadians have been dramatic. It will be possible to precisely analyse the current situation and its evolution in the last 10 years when data based on measured height and weight will be released, that is, in 2005 and after. [source]


Diversity of Mitochondrial DNA Lineages in South Siberia

ANNALS OF HUMAN GENETICS, Issue 5 2003
M. V. Derenko
Summary To investigate the origin and evolution of aboriginal populations of South Siberia, a comprehensive mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis (HVR1 sequencing combined with RFLP typing) of 480 individuals, representing seven Altaic-speaking populations (Altaians, Khakassians, Buryats, Sojots, Tuvinians, Todjins and Tofalars), was performed. Additionally, HVR2 sequence information was obtained for 110 Altaians, providing, in particular, some novel details of the East Asian mtDNA phylogeny. The total sample revealed 81% East Asian (M*, M7, M8, M9, M10, C, D, G, Z, A, B, F, N9a, Y) and 17% West Eurasian (H, U, J, T, I, N1a, X) matrilineal genetic contribution, but with regional differences within South Siberia. The highest influx of West Eurasian mtDNAs was observed in populations from the East Sayan and Altai regions (from 12.5% to 34.5%), whereas in populations from the Baikal region this contribution was markedly lower (less than 10%). The considerable substructure within South Siberian haplogroups B, F, and G, together with the high degree of haplogroup C and D diversity revealed there, allows us to conclude that South Siberians carry the genetic imprint of early-colonization phase of Eurasia. Statistical analyses revealed that South Siberian populations contain high levels of mtDNA diversity and high heterogeneity of mtDNA sequences among populations (Fst = 5.05%) that might be due to geography but not due to language and anthropological features. [source]