Long-term trends in Indigenous deaths from chronic diseases in the Northern Territory: a foot on the brake, a foot on the accelerator

OBJECTIVE: To examine trends in Northern Territory Indigenous mortality from chronic diseases other than cancer. DESIGN: A comparison of trends in rates of mortality from six chronic diseases (ischaemic heart disease [IHD], chronic obstructive pulmonary disease [COPD], cerebrovascular disease [CVD], diabetes mellitus [DM], renal failure [RF] and rheumatic heart disease [RHD]) in the NT Indigenous population with those of the total Australian population. PARTICIPANTS: NT Indigenous and total Australian populations, 1977-2001. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Estimated average annual change in chronic disease mortality rates and in mortality rate ratios. RESULTS: Death rates from IHD and DM among NT Indigenous peoples increased between 1977 and 2001, but this increase slowed after 1990. Death rates from COPD rose before 1990, but fell thereafter. There were non-significant declines in death rates from CVD and RHD. Mortality rates from RF rose in those aged > or = 50 years. The ratios of mortality rates for NT Indigenous to total Australian populations from these chronic diseases increased throughout the period. CONCLUSIONS: Mortality rates from IHD and DM in the NT Indigenous population have been increasing since 1977, but there is evidence of a slower rise (or even a fall) in death rates in the 1990s. These early small changes give reason to hope that some improvements (possibly in medical care) have been putting the brakes on chronic disease mortality among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.     

Regional variation in the incidence of end-stage renal disease in Indigenous Australians

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate regional variation in the incidence of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) in Indigenous Australians, and to examine the proximity to ESRD treatment facilities of Indigenous patients. DESIGN: Secondary data review, with collection of primary data regarding patients' place of residence before beginning ESRD treatment. PARTICIPANTS: Indigenous ESRD patients who commenced treatment in Australia during 1993-1998. METHODS: We obtained data from the Australian and New Zealand Dialysis and Transplant Registry regarding 719 Indigenous patients who started ESRD treatment between 1 January 1993 and 31 December 1998. We obtained primary data from the treating renal units to determine the place of residence before beginning renal replacement therapy. We calculated the average annual incidence of ESRD for each of the 36 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission regions using population estimates based on the 1996 Census, and calculated standardised incidence ratios with 95% confidence intervals for each region. We compared the number of cases with the treatment facilities available in each region. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Regional standardised ESRD incidence for Indigenous Australians referenced to the total resident population of Australia. RESULTS: Standardised ESRD incidence among Indigenous Australians is highest in remote regions, where it is up to 30 times the national incidence for all Australians. In urban regions the standardised incidence is much lower, but remains significantly higher than the national incidence. Forty-eight per cent of Indigenous ESRD patients come from regions without dialysis or transplant facilities and 16.3% from regions with only satellite dialysis facilities. CONCLUSIONS: There is marked regional variation in the incidence of ESRD among Indigenous Australians. Because of the location of treatment centres, there is inequitable access to ESRD treatment services for a significant proportion of Indigenous patients.     

Long-term trends in cancer mortality for Indigenous Australians in the Northern Territory

OBJECTIVE: To examine long-term trends in cancer mortality in the Indigenous people of the Northern Territory (NT) of Australia. DESIGN: Comparison of cancer mortality rates of the NT Indigenous population with those of the total Australian population for 1991-2000, and examination of time trends in cancer mortality rates in the NT Indigenous population, 1977-2000. PARTICIPANTS: NT Indigenous and total Australian populations, 1977-2000. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Cancer mortality rate ratios and percentage change in annual mortality rates. RESULTS: The NT Indigenous cancer mortality rate was higher than the total Australian rate for cancers of the liver, lungs, uterus, cervix and thyroid, and, in younger people only, for cancers of the oropharynx, oesophagus and pancreas. NT Indigenous mortality rates were lower than the total Australian rates for renal cancers and melanoma and, in older people only, for cancers of the prostate and bowel. Differences between Indigenous and total Australian cancer mortality rates were more pronounced among those aged under 64 years for most cancers. NT Indigenous cancer mortality rates increased over the 24-year period for cancers of the oropharynx, pancreas and lung, all of which are smoking-related cancers. CONCLUSIONS: Cancer is an important and increasing health problem for Indigenous Australians. Cancers that affect Indigenous Australians to a greater extent than other Australians are largely preventable (eg, through smoking cessation, Pap smear programs and hepatitis B vaccination).     

The outcome of critically ill Indigenous patients

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the short-term outcome of critically ill Indigenous patients. DESIGN AND PARTICIPANTS: Retrospective cohort study using de-identified audit data from a tertiary intensive care unit (ICU) in Western Australia for the 11-year period 1 January 1993 to 31 December 2003. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Hospital mortality (crude, and adjusted for severity of illness). RESULTS: Of 16 757 ICU patients, 1076 (6.4%) were identified as Indigenous. The Indigenous patients were younger and more commonly had chronic liver and renal diseases. Indigenous people represented 3.2% of the population of Western Australia in 2001, but represented 3.1% and 9.5% of all elective and emergency ICU admissions, respectively. Diagnoses of sepsis, pneumonia, trauma, and cardiopulmonary arrest were common among critically ill Indigenous patients. Following emergency admission, the crude hospital mortality for Indigenous patients was higher (22.7% v 19.2%; crude odds ratio, 1.24; 95% CI, 1.04-1.47) than for non-Indigenous patients. The crude hospital mortality of critically ill Indigenous patients was lower than that predicted by the APACHE II prognostic model and was similar to that of non-Indigenous patients after adjusting for severity of illness and chronic health status. CONCLUSIONS: The pattern of critical illness affecting Indigenous Australians in Western Australia was different from that affecting non-Indigenous patients. The crude hospital mortality was high, but similar to that of non-Indigenous Australians after adjusting for severity of illness and chronic health status.     

Stage at diagnosis and cancer survival for Indigenous Australians in the Northern Territory

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether Indigenous Australians with cancer have more advanced disease at diagnosis than other Australians, and whether late diagnosis explains lower Indigenous cancer survival rates. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: Indigenous and non-Indigenous people diagnosed with cancers of the colon and rectum, lung, breast or cervix and non-Hodgkin lymphoma in the Northern Territory of Australia in 1991-2000. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: SEER summary stage of cancer at diagnosis (local, regional or distant spread), cause-specific cancer survival rates and relative risk of cancer death. RESULTS: Diagnosis with advanced disease (regional or distant spread) was more common for Indigenous people (70%; 95% CI, 62%-78%) than for non-Indigenous people (51%; 95% CI, 53%-59%) with cancers of the colon and rectum, breast, cervix and non-Hodgkin lymphoma, but for lung cancer the opposite was found (Indigenous, 56% [95% CI, 46%-65%] v non-Indigenous, 69% [95% CI, 64%-75%]). Stage-adjusted survival rates were lower for Indigenous people for each cancer site. With few exceptions, the relative risk of cancer death was higher for Indigenous people for each category of stage at diagnosis for each cancer site. CONCLUSIONS: Health services apparently could, and should, be performing better for Indigenous people with cancer in the Northern Territory, and probably elsewhere in Australia. This study has demonstrated that data from cancer registers, enhanced with data on stage at diagnosis, can be used to monitor health service performance for Indigenous Australians in the Northern Territory; similar data is available in other States, and could be used to monitor health service performance for Indigenous people throughout Australia.     

风湿性心脏瓣膜病肝脏病理改变的临床意义

目的：探讨风湿性心脏瓣膜病（简称风心病）肝脏病理改变的临床意义。方法：选择风心病41例,其中合并三尖瓣关闭不全患30例,施行心脏瓣膜置换术,在体外循环建立前取肝组织活检,采用光学显微镜及H－800透视电镜检查。结果：风心病合并三尖瓣关闭不全,且有一定反流量患的肝脏典型病理改变主要表现为：（1）肝细胞间质改变：肝窦状隙淤血、扩张,肝纤维组织增生;（2）肝细胞改变：肝细胞肿胀,线粒体肿胀,嵴消失、肝细胞坏死。而且,本组患肝脏病理改变程度与三尖瓣反流量有关,反流量越大病理损伤越严重。结论：强调风心病合并三尖瓣关闭不全患应尽早手术,术中积极矫正三尖瓣关闭不全,是改善和恢复肝脏病理改变的重要措施。     

Fulfilling prophecy? Sexually transmitted infections and HIV in Indigenous people in Western Australia

OBJECTIVE: To compare trends and rates of HIV and sexually transmitted infections in Indigenous and non-Indigenous people of Western Australia. DESIGN AND SETTING: Analysis of WA notification data for chlamydia, gonorrhoea, and primary and secondary syphilis in 2002, and for HIV infections from 1983 to 2002. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Rates of HIV and sexually transmitted infection by Indigenous status. RESULTS: In 2002, there were 3046 notifications for chlamydia, 1380 for gonorrhoea and 64 for syphilis. When information on Indigenous status was available, Indigenous people accounted for 41% of chlamydia and 76% of gonorrhoea notifications, with Indigenous:non-Indigenous age-standardised rate ratios of 16 (95% CI, 14-17) and 77 (95% CI, 67-88), respectively. Indigenous people accounted for 90.6% of syphilis notifications (age-standardised Indigenous:non-Indigenous rate ratio, 242 [95% CI, 104-561]). From 1985 to 2002, HIV notification rates for non-Indigenous people in WA declined and rates for Indigenous people increased. From 1994 to 2002, there were 421 notifications of HIV infection in WA residents, 52 (12.4%) in Indigenous people and 369 (87.6%) in non-Indigenous people. Indigenous people accounted for 39% and 6.2% of all notifications in WA females and males, respectively. The Indigenous:non-Indigenous rate ratios were 18 (95% CI, 12-29) for females and 2 (95% CI, 1-3) for males. CONCLUSIONS: Indigenous Western Australians are at greater risk of HIV transmission than non-Indigenous people. Strategies to prevent further HIV infection in Indigenous Australians should include control of sexually transmitted infections.     

2011 update to National Heart Foundation of Australia and Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand Guidelines for the prevention, detection and management of chronic heart failure in Australia, 2006

Chronic heart failure (CHF) is a complex and lethal clinical syndrome accounting for an increasing number of Australian hospital separations and more than 2700 Australian deaths in 2008. In 2006, the National Heart Foundation of Australia and Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand published Guidelines for the prevention, detection and management of chronic heart failure in Australia, 2006. Results from recently published clinical trials provide additional information to be considered in the prevention, detection and management of CHF. In some cases, this new evidence strengthens recommendations previously made in the 2006 guidelines; in others, it provides new approaches to current recommended practice. Areas in which there have been significant new developments include: Use of B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) or N-terminal proBNP plasma level measurement in guiding treatment of CHF; New pharmacological approaches to the treatment of systolic heart failure; Drugs to avoid or use with caution in CHF; Treatment of cardiac arrhythmias in patients with CHF; Multidisciplinary care and post-discharge management programs. While patient circumstances and clinical judgement should guide the interpretation of these findings in the clinical context, this update, together with the 2006 guidelines, provides current clinical guidance on CHF.     

风湿性心脏病心房颤动患者心房附壁血栓危险因素的相关性研究

目的探讨风湿性心脏病(RHD)合并心房颤动(AF)患者心房附壁血栓形成的危险因素,为临床干预提供依据。方法将100例风湿性心脏病心房颤动患者按是否合并心房附壁血栓分为两个组,对相关因素进行回顾性分析研究。结果AF患者左房血栓的危险因素有:单纯二尖瓣狭窄;联合瓣膜病;左室射血分数的下降。结论左室射血分数的下降是RHD合并AF患者左房血栓形成的危险因素;单纯二尖瓣狭窄时二尖瓣关闭不全的存在使左房血栓形成的风险下降。     

Rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease: clinical profile of 550 cases in India

BACKGROUND: The aims and objectives of this paper were to analyze the clinical presentation of children with rheumatic fever (RF) and rheumatic heart disease (RHD), to determine the cardiac sequel of RF and valvular affection due to RF, and to study clinical manifestations in recurrences of RF. METHODS: Our study, a retrospective analysis, was conducted at a tertiary-care teaching hospital with specialty follow-up clinic for patients with RF/RHD. This retrospective study was conducted to include a period of 31 years (from January 1971 through December 2001). Pre-completed case protocols of patients with RF/RHD were analyzed to record the following information: demographic data; clinical features on admission/presentation; relevant investigations; recurrences; cardiac valvular affection, and outcome. Modified Jones' criteria were used for diagnosis of RF. RESULTS: The study included 550 patients. Mean age of presentation was 9.62 years and sex ratio was 1.15:1 favoring males. A total of 250 patients presented with initial/first attack of RF. Arthritis and carditis were seen in 169 (67.6%) and 105 cases (42%), respectively. Chorea was seen in 47 cases (18.8%) and erythema marginatum, in four. A total of 224 patients presented with recurrence of RF (with pre-existing RHD). Arthritis and carditis were seen in 109 (48.66%) and 178 cases (79.46%), respectively, in these patients; 76 cases presented with chronic RHD. Mitral regurgitation was the most common cardiac valvular lesion observed (150 cases) followed by a combination of mitral stenosis and mitral regurgitation (98 cases). Congestive cardiac failure was seen in 201 cases (36.54%) and infective endocarditis in 30 (5.45%). 2-D echocardiography and/or color Doppler was performed in 201 patients (36.54%). Average duration of follow-up was 3.19 years; 74.72% of cases were lost to follow-up. Benzathine penicillin prophylaxis was regular in 42.18% cases. Positive family history of RF/RHD was present in 2% of cases. Twenty three patients (4.18%) died. CONCLUSIONS: Arthritis was the most common manifestation in the initial attack of RF, while carditis was the most common manifestation in patients presenting with rheumatic recurrences (with pre-existing RHD) and mitral regurgitation was the most common valvular lesion. Rate of patient dropout from penicillin prophylaxis was high. Clinical manifestations in initial/first attack of RF have not significantly changed in the last 31 years.     

The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the right to health: is Australia meeting its obligations to Aboriginal peoples?

There is evidence that Australia is not meeting its obligations to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples for their right to the "highest attainable standard" of health, required under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). Poor access to primary health care for Aboriginal peoples and substantial shortfalls in government spending to address this are in violation of the ICESCR. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples' share of the universal health coverage expenditure offered to all Australians is less per person than for other Australians. The failure to monitor the provision of mainstream health services to Aboriginal peoples and inequitable distribution of health facilities and services compound these violations. Equality in health between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians is achievable, but not until the shortfall in health services expenditure for Indigenous Australians is addressed.     

HIV and AIDS in aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians: 1992-1998. The National HIV Surveillance Committee

OBJECTIVE: To describe the epidemiological pattern of newly diagnosed HIV infection and AIDS among Indigenous Australians. DESIGN AND SETTING: National surveillance for newly diagnosed HIV infection and AIDS in Australia. Information on Indigenous status was sought at HIV/AIDS notification in all State/Territory health jurisdictions, except the Australian Capital Territory, and Victoria before June 1998. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Number of people with newly diagnosed HIV per year and population rate of HIV diagnosis; demographic characteristics of people with HIV and AIDS diagnoses by Indigenous status. RESULTS: From 1992 to 1998, 127 Indigenous Australians were newly diagnosed with HIV infection and 55 were diagnosed with AIDS. The population rate of HIV diagnosis among Indigenous Australians (5.23/100,000 per year) was similar to that among non-Indigenous Australians (5.51/100,000 per year). The annual number of HIV diagnoses among Indigenous people was relatively stable, but among non-Indigenous people it declined steadily over time. A higher proportion of Indigenous people diagnosed with HIV were women (26.8% v 8.9%; P < 0.001). Although male homosexual contact was the predominant source of exposure for both Indigenous (46.7%) and non-Indigenous (75.0%) people with HIV infection, exposure by heterosexual contact (36.7% v 15.3%; P < 0.001) was reported more frequently among Indigenous people. CONCLUSION: Although HIV incidence was similar among Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians, the lack of a recent decline in incidence and the higher proportion of Indigenous people exposed to HIV by heterosexual contact indicate the need to intensify interventions to prevent HIV transmission among Indigenous people.     

The health of urban Aboriginal people: insufficient data to close the gap

The Australian Government has committed to reducing Indigenous disadvantage, including closing the life-expectancy gap within a generation, and to halving the gap in mortality rates for children under 5 years of age within a decade. Sixty per cent of the health gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians is attributable to the health of Indigenous people living in non-remote areas of Australia. We conducted a brief review of recent Australian original research publications on the health of the 53% of Indigenous people who live in urban areas, and found that data are sparse; there were only 63 studies in the past 5 years (11% of all articles about Indigenous health during this period). Although Indigenous Australians living in remote areas experience greater health disparity, the government will not achieve its aims without paying due attention to the non-remote-living population. More research is required, and particularly research that actually tests the impact of policies and programs.     

Acute rheumatic fever. A vanishing disease in suburbia

We undertook a retrospective analysis of the incidence of acute rheumatic fever (ARF) in Memphis-Shelby County during the five-year period from 1977 through 1981. Cases were identified by review of local hospital records and by mail and telephone communication with 327 primary care physicians and neurologists. Forty-one patients met the modified Jones criteria, of whom 16 had conditions that were diagnosed in Memphis but who resided elsewhere. The overall ARF incidence among Memphis-Shelby County residents was 0.64 cases per 100,000 population each year. The highest rate, 3.74, was found among blacks aged 5 to 17 years residing in the inner city, while white children in the suburban and rural areas had a rate of only 0.49. Current strategies for prevention and diagnosis of ARF must take into account the extraordinarily low level to which the incidence of the disease has fallen in certain suburban US populations.     

老年及老年前期风湿性心脏病的临床特点

目的：研究老年及老年前期风湿性心脏病的临床特点。方法：对５２例４５岁以上的风心病病人与同期５３例１４～４４岁的风心病病人的资料进行对比分析。结果：显示老年及老年前期风心病起病隐袭，有风湿史者少，风湿活动少，病程长，合并症多，瓣膜病变重，发生二尖瓣钙化的病例多，左房增大明显，发生持续性心房纤颤例数多，与对照组比较，差别显著或非常显著。结论：了解老年风湿性心脏病的临床特点，采取积极的治疗措施，将有助于改善患者的预后。     

风湿性心脏病合并心脏黏液瘤的临床诊断探讨

目的 探讨风湿性心脏病（简称风心病）合并心脏黏液瘤的诊断特点。方法 对3例临床资料进行回顾性临床分析。结果 风湿性心脏病合并心脏黏液瘤以风湿病史为特点常伴有突发晕厥,间歇性特异性心脏瓣膜杂音与栓塞等综合征。且血浆ASO、ESR及粘蛋白在二者并存时常有不同程度的增高表现,心电图（EKG）、心脏二维超声（2-DE）及磁共振（MRI）等检查均有助于诊断。结论 根据仔细的病史询问并结合血生化检查及相关物理检查如EKG、2-DE、MRI等有助于提高风心病合并心脏黏液瘤的诊断。     

Nutrition-related disorders in Indigenous Australians: how things have changed

Awareness of a serious Indigenous health problem in Australia did not emerge until the 1960s and 1970s. Much attention was focused at the time on poor pregnancy outcomes, high infant and young child mortality rates, and childhood malnutrition and impaired growth, often associated with high infectious disease burdens. Although that situation has improved somewhat, Indigenous infant and child health is still poor compared with that of other Australian children. Over recent decades, there has been a rapid rise among Indigenous people of nutrition-related "lifestyle" disorders such as obesity, cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes mellitus and chronic renal disease and their complications. This epidemic of disabling and often fatal chronic diseases in Indigenous Australians is also occurring in disadvantaged groups in many other countries. Control of this potentially disastrous epidemic must become a much higher priority in Indigenous health programs. Governments must commit to this task in cooperation and collaboration with Indigenous organisations and communities.     

风湿性心脏病患者能量、能量效率与左室收缩功能关系的研究

目的　探讨风湿性心脏病 (RHD)患者能量 (E)、能量效率 (EE)与左室收缩功能的关系。方法　应用超声心动图检测 5 8例RHD患者左室收缩功能 ,根据相应公式计算出E、EE ,并与 45例正常对照组进行比较 ,了解RHD患者E、EE与左室收缩功能的关系。结果　与对照组比较 ,RHD患者E随心功能变化而改变 ,有显著性差异 (P <0 0 5 ) ;EE则明显降低(P <0 0 5 )。结论　RHD患者E、EE与左室收缩功能密切相关     

风湿性心脏病患者心肌肌球蛋白轻链的变化

目的:研究风湿性心脏病(RHD)心衰时心室肌中肌球蛋白轻链(VMLC)的变化与心脏重塑的关系。方法:采用Western blotting技术对13例RHD心衰患者及7例意外死亡者VMLC-1,VMLC-2含量进行定量分析。结果:RHD组VMLC-1,VMLC-2含量均显著低于正常对照组,以VMLC-2含量下降最明显,VMLC-1/VMLC-2比值在1∶0.95-1∶0.61。结论:RHD心衰发展过程中涉及了VMLC-1,VMLC-2蛋白水平的改变,这种改变可能对心功能的进行性恶化有直接影响。     

Detection of herpes simplex virus type 1 in rheumatic valvular tissue

Background Rheumatic heart disease (RHD) is the most important sequela of rheumatic fever (RF):evidence that streptococcal infection is aetiological is prominent, but sometimes contradictory. Acute HSV-1 infection in mouse leads to carditis and valvulitis whereas recurrent infection results in inflammatory granulomatous lesions that resemble Aschoff bodies. Cells containing HSV-1 inclusions or virus infected giant cells appear similar to Anitschkow cells or Asehoff cells respectively. We hypothesized that HSV-1 infection also may be involved in RHD.Methods Formalin-fixed, paraMn-embedded valvular tissue samples from 32 patients with RHD were investigated for evidence of HSV-1 infection. HSV-1 antigen was detected by immunohistoehemistry, using HSV-1-specific monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies. HSV-1 glyeoprotein D gene sequences were amplified by nPCR,using β-globin gene amplification in the same samples as internal control. Valvular tissue from 5 cases of sudden death and 3 cases died of neisseria meningitis without a history of valvular disease was used for comparison. HSV-1-infected lung tissue was used as positive control.Results HSV-I antigens were detected in valvular tissues from 21 of 32 (65.6%) patients. Fifteen of these 21 (46.9% of cases), but no antigen-negative sample, were positive also for HSV DNA. Nueleotide sequence of PCR products was homologous to the targeted region of the HSV-1 glycoprotein D gene. HSV-1 antigen was present also in one case of sudden death but viral DNA was not found in any tissue sample from tile comparison group. Results from reagent and positive controls were as anticipated.Conclusions This is the first study to show the presence of HSV-1 antigen and genomic DNA in valvular tissues from patients with RHD and provides evidence for an association of HSV-1 infection with some cases of rheumatic valvular disease.