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Biomedical subjects

M Gracey

Publications and source records attributed to M Gracey.

At least 217 records · Page 12Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

Hospital admissions of Aborigines and non-Aborigines in Western Australia, 1977-1988.

Aborigines were admitted to hospital in Western Australia 2.8 times as frequently as other persons in 1977-1988. Their highest relative admission rates were in the 0-5 years age group, mostly for respiratory and gastrointestinal infections. Relative admission rates (all ages) for some categories were: infectious and parasitic, 4 to 10-fold; respiratory, 5-fold; nervous system, 4-fold; injury and poisoning, 3 to 5-fold; mental disorders, double the non-Aboriginal rate. Admissions for respiratory illnesses were consistently much higher in Aborigines of all ages. There were some significant declines in relative hospital admission rates for Aborigines over the study period.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Factors affecting birthweight of rural Australian Aborigines.

AIM: To examine factors affecting birthweight of Aboriginal infants in the Kimberley region of north-west Australia. RESEARCH DESIGN: A retrospective study of maternal and infant health records obtained through routine data collection. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Birthweight and length of 2959 infants born to 1822 women from 1986 to 1994 were analysed. Mothers and infants were matched using unique identification codes. Index births and subsequent births to the same mother were collated in order to examine relative birth order effects and to calculate birth intervals. RESULTS: Regression analysis showed significant associations between weight of the index birth and maternal age (p < 0.001), remoteness of locality (p < 0.01), sex of the infant (p < 0.001) and maternal height (p < 0.001). Length at birth was significantly associated with ethnicity of infant (Aboriginal vs Aboriginal/non-Aboriginal admixture, p < 0.05), sex (p < 0.001), remoteness (p < 0.01) and maternal height (p < 0.001). Similar associations were observed for second and subsequent births. Birth interval was not associated with birthweight or length. Low birthweight was also more common to Aboriginal mothers compared with mothers of Aboriginal/non-Aboriginal admixture (13.1% vs 9.2%; chi(2) = 5.1, p < 0.025) even though there were no differences in height between these two groups. Teenage mothers (< or =19 years) were no more likely to have low birthweight babies than older mothers. Of the variables examined, the only significant predictor of low birthweight was a previous low birthweight baby (relative risk = 4.45, p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Short birth intervals and teenage births were not significant contributors to low birthweight in the present study. The high prevalence and duration of breastfeeding in the Kimberley may contribute to long average birth intervals. Pre-term birth, rather than intrauterine growth retardation, is likely to be the most common cause of low birthweight in this population.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Growth of aboriginal infants in the first year of life in remote communities in north-west Australia.

Growth in the first year of life was studied prospectively, at monthly intervals, in 49 Aboriginal babies born into 6 remote communities in the tropical north-west of Australia. Birthweights, on average, were slightly lower than international (NCHS) reference values but growth velocity in the first 3 months of life exceeded international reference values. After that, growth rates in Aboriginal infants slowed and their attained weights and lengths fell behind expected values for age. By 12 months of age the Kimberley boys were 1.35 kg lighter and 4 cm shorter than the NCHS values while the Kimberley girls were 1.04 kg and 2.8 cm less than the international reference values. Environmental factors are considered dominant in determining these growth patterns in Australian Aboriginal infants.

Anthropometry↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Growth of remote Australian aborigines from birth to two years.

Lengths and weights have been measured every month from birth to two years of age in 48 Aboriginal children born into six remote communities in the Kimberley region in the far north of Western Australia. Birthweights, on average, were slightly less than international reference values but growth rates in the first 3 months of life exceeded those reference values. However, between 3 and 6 months of age rates of weight gain and linear growth fell below those expected at that age and after 9 months of age Aboriginal infants were lighter than reference values and remained so throughout the first two years of life. By 2 years of age the Kimberley children were more than 1 kg lighter and 4.5 cm (boys) and 3.6 cm (girls) shorter than the international reference values. Monthly means and standard deviations for weight and length velocities are given. Environmental factors, particularly infections and inadequate nutrition, are important contributors to impaired growth in Aboriginal infants and young children.

Australia↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Persistent childhood diarrhoea: patterns, pathogenesis and prevention.

With improved management of acute episodes of infectious diarrhoea, increased attention is now being given to persistent diarrhoea and its nutritional consequences and associated mortality. Risk factors for the development of persistent diarrhoea include young age, malnutrition, impaired immune function, recent introduction of milk feedings, prior antimicrobial therapy and infection with pathogenic strains of Escherichia coli. Descriptive epidemiology indicates that 3-20% of episodes of acute diarrhoea in children in developing countries become persistent and cause about one-third to one-half of all deaths from diarrhoea. Environmental factors may be very important in causing persistent diarrhoea: these include undernutrition combined with the impact of living in highly contaminated environments and their effects on gastrointestinal microecology. Development of effective preventive strategies will depend on improved understanding of causes and pathogenesis of persistent diarrhoea.

Acute Disease↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Hospitalization of Aboriginal adults for digestive disorders in Western Australia, 1989-91.

Hospital admission rates for many gastrointestinal, hepatobiliary and pancreatic diseases were much higher in Aboriginals aged 15 to > 65 years than among the rest of the population of that age in Western Australia in 1989-91. Alcohol-related conditions were particularly prominent: the relative rate (RR) for alcoholic gastritis was > 30; for acute alcoholic hepatitis in young adults > 20; for alcoholic cirrhosis at 30-64 years the RR was about 4 to > 10; the RR for haematemesis and melaena was > 3; for acute pancreatitis at 30-64 years the RR ranged from about 3 to 20. Admissions for cholelithiasis in Aboriginal males were 1.5-2 times as frequent as in other males; for Aboriginal females the RR was > 2; acute cholecystitis was much commoner in Aboriginal patients from 30 to 64 years of age than in other patients of the same age. Illnesses coded as 'non-infectious enteritis and colitis' were the commonest diagnostic category in the International Classification of Diseases (ICD 9) classification of digestive system disorders among Aboriginal patients; admissions for these conditions occurred at double to more than seven times the rates that occurred in the same age groups in non-Aboriginal patients. Many of these illnesses were probably due to undetected gastrointestinal infections and parasitic infestations. This study shows that Aboriginal adults have disproportionately high rates of morbidity from many diseases of the digestive system. The findings have important implications for clinical services as well as for the development of preventive and promotional health strategies for Aboriginal people.

Adolescent↗