International Journal of Epidemiology, Vol 26, 797-805, Copyright © 1997 by International Epidemiological Association
P Williams, M Gracey and P Smith
BACKGROUND: Aboriginal people have lower health standards than other
Australians. Respiratory tract diseases are prominent causes of high
morbidity and mortality rates in the Aboriginal population. However, very
little is known about the patterns of respiratory illnesses which affect
these people. METHOD: This paper compares Aboriginal and non- Aboriginal
age-specific hospitalization patterns for respiratory tract diseases from
1988 to 1993 in Western Australia (WA). RESULTS: Aboriginal people were
admitted for respiratory diseases 2-16 times more frequently than
non-Aboriginals of the same age with considerable discrepancies in
hospitalization rates particularly in infants, young children and older
adults. High admission rates for acute respiratory tract infections,
pneumonia and asthma occurred in Aboriginal infants. Pneumonia was a
disproportionately frequent cause of admissions in Aboriginal infants,
children and adults. Pneumonia is a more frequent cause of admission among
non-metropolitan compared to metropolitan Aboriginals. Asthma was a
frequent cause of admissions of Aboriginal children and hospitalization
rates for this disease were higher in non- metropolitan than metropolitan
areas. Chronic obstructive airway disease and respiratory tract carcinoma
were important uses of hospitalization in older Aboriginals. CONCLUSIONS:
Admission rates for respiratory conditions were consistently higher among
the Aboriginal population and in non-metropolitan areas. The overwhelming
importance of infections among Aboriginal admissions has significant
implications for the prevention and management of respiratory diseases
among Aboriginal people.
ARTICLES
Hospitalization of aboriginal and non-aboriginal patients for respiratory tract diseases in Western Australia, 1988-1993
Health Department of Western Australia, Perth, Australia.
CiteULike 
Connotea 
Del.icio.us What's this?
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  S. M. Mortimer-Jones, N. D. Phillips, T. La, R. Naresh, and D. J. Hampson Penicillin resistance in the intestinal spirochaete Brachyspira pilosicoli associated with OXA-136 and OXA-137, two new variants of the class D {beta}-lactamase OXA-63 J. Med. Microbiol., September 1, 2008; 57(9): 1122 - 1128. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 C. J. Brooke, D. J. Hampson, and T. V. Riley In Vitro Antimicrobial Susceptibility of Brachyspira pilosicoli Isolates from Humans Antimicrob. Agents Chemother., July 1, 2003; 47(7): 2354 - 2357. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 P.C. Valery, A.B. Chang, S. Shibasaki, O. Gibson, D.M. Purdie, C. Shannon, and I.B. Masters High prevalence of asthma in five remote indigenous communities in Australia Eur. Respir. J., June 1, 2001; 17(6): 1089 - 1096. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|