Showing papers by "Peter D. Baade published in 2002"

Differential effect of socioeconomic status on rates of invasive coronary procedures across the public and private sectors in Queensland, Australia

Abstract: Free access to health care for all Australians is enshrined in the publicly funded Medicare programme, which coexists with and subsidises the private sector. Information about equitable access under this system is scarce. In other countries with free health insurance, patients of low socioeconomic status (SES) have low rates of invasive coronary procedures (ICP): angiography, angioplasty, and bypass surgery.1,2 The purpose of this study was to examine whether SES has a differential effect on ICP rates across the public and private sectors in Queensland (population: 3.5 million), Australia. We used computerised discharge abstracts to conduct a population-based cohort study of the 3531 patients admitted to Queensland hospitals for acute myocardial infarction (AMI) during 1998. AMI patients were identified using the ICD9-CM code 410. x 1: first episode of care for a newly diagnosed myocardial infarction . Follow up was for one year and used probabilistic matching based on Medicare number, date of birth, sex, country of birth and address of usual residence. We applied two exclusion criteria: (1) age younger than 30 years or older than 89 years, …

Mortality from prostate cancer is decreasing.

Abstract: 1. American Diabetes Association. Report of the expert committee on the diagnosis and classification of diabetes mellitus. Diabetes Care 1997; 20: 1183-1197. 2. World Health Organization. Definition, diagnosis and classification of diabetes mellitus and its complications. Report of a WHO Consultation. Part 1: diagnosis and classification of diabetes mellitus. Geneva: World Health Organization Department of Noncommunicable Disease Surveillance, 1999: 1-59. 3. Colagiuri S, Colagiuri R, Ward J. National diabetes strategy and implementation plan. Canberra: Diabetes Australia, 1998. 4. Hilton DJ, O'Rourke PK, Welborn TA, Reid CM. Diabetes detection in Australian general practice: a comparison of diagnostic criteria. Med J Aust 2002; 176: 104-107. 5. Henry MJ, Pasco JA, Nicholson GC, et al. Prevalence of osteoporosis in Australian women: Geelong Osteoporosis Study. J Clin Densitom 2000; 3: 261-268. ❏

An outbreak of leptospirosis in North Queensland, Australia January to May, 1999

Abstract: The World Health Organization/Food and Agriculture Organization Collaborating Center for Reference and Research on Leptospirosis, Western Pacific Region, is part of Queensland Health Scientific Services, Queensland Health. In 1999 there was a marked increase in human leptospirosis notifications in North Queensland. Australia, over the period of January to May. There were 216 notifications for the state of Queensland in 1999, compared with 108 in 1998 and 64 in 1997. By April 1999, the Reference Laboratory and Queensland Health's Tropical Public Health Unit (TPHU), Cairns, had reported an outbreak of leptospirosis in North Queensland. Notifications reported for the North Queensland Health districts of Cairns, Tablelands and Innisfail were the highest, with the majority involving workers in the banana industry. The outbreak resulted from infections with a number of serovars, mostly attributed to serovars australis and zanoni. Sixty leptospiral isolates were obtained from human cases in North Queensland during the outbreak. The hospitalization rate was in excess of 50%. The Queensland Health's TPHU has implemented a program to educate target industries and the community on the risks and prevention strategies associated with leptospirosis.