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Food-purchasing behaviour in an Aboriginal community. 1. Results of a survey.

Attempts to improve the nutritional status of Aboriginal people through nutritional education programs should be informed by an understanding of contemporary patterns of food procurement, preparation and distribution. This paper describes the results of a survey of food-purchasing behaviour in a central-Australian Aboriginal community. Every transaction occurring in each food outlet in the community over a two-week period was recorded and the data analysed. The results show that women play a much greater role than men in food purchasing, that there is a significant recourse to takeaway foods, that there is a cycle of expenditure determined by distribution of pension and Community Development Employment Project cheques, and that children have sufficient disposable income to be able to provision themselves from the food outlets, so that much of their food consumption is not determined by adult members of their family.

Adolescent↗

[Mortality socio-economic inequalities for small-areas in Belgium: assessing concentration].

BACKGROUND: The reduction of socio-economic inequality in mortality is an important public health goal. Previous ecological studies aimed at studying the relationship between mortality rate and socio-economic factors have paid little attention to mortality causes avoidable by primary or secondary prevention. Furthermore, these studies do not make the distinction between, on the one hand, the strength of the relationship mortality/socio-economic deprivation and, on the other hand, the significance of the unequal distribution of mortality. The present work is aimed at measuring the strength of this relationship and the concentration of mortality in relation to socio-economic deprivation for both overall mortality and mortality avoidable by primary and secondary prevention. METHOD: Standardised mortality ratios were computed at the community level in Belgium (1985-93 period) for all causes and for 11 mortality causes avoidable by primary and secondary prevention. A deprivation index was elaborated using a factorial principal component analysis on 11 socio-economic indicators. The mortality/deprivation relationship was assessed by way of a standardised regression coefficient (B) while socio-economic concentration of mortality was estimated using the Concentration Illness Index (Cii) and the P90/P10 ratio. RESULTS: A strong positive relationship was found between mortality and deprivation for under 65 years all-causes mortality (B =0.71; CI [0.66; 0.76]), mortality for cirrhosis of the liver (B =0.56; CI [0.51; 0.62]), lung cancer (B =0.49; CI [0.42; 0. 56]), suicide (B =0.35; CI [0.29; 0.42]) and falls (B =0.34; CI [0. 28; 0.41]). However, the concentration of mortality was more limited: 14% (CI [11%-17%]) of cirrhosis of the liver mortality, 7% of fall (CI [5%-10%]) and suicide mortality (CI [4%-9%]), 6% (CI [5%-7%]) of lung cancer mortality is unequally distributed. CONCLUSION: Socio-economic deprivation is positively associated with mortality. This association is more pronounced for tobacco, alcohol and mental health related mortality. However, the strength of the relationship between socio-economic deprivation and mortality is not a good indicator of unequal distribution.

Age Factors↗

Urban nutritional problems of Korea.

Rapid economic development resulted in urbanization of Korea, since 1960s. Seoul is the center of politics, finance, education and culture of Korea. Mostly young people have migrated to large cities, such as Seoul and Pusan. For instance, the population in Seoul city was 2.5 million in 1960 but increased to 10 million in 1990. Presently, total population of Seoul and Pusan, second largest city, composed of approximately 50% of whole national population. The economic distribution among urban people became extremely uneven creating a large gap between low and high income group. As a consequence, both under and over nutritional problems coexist. According to the national nutrition survey data, animal food, such as meat, fish and dairy products have been consumed about 6 times more, and cereal consumption was far less in higher income group. In terms of nutrients intake, 28% of total caloric intake comes from lipids and 15-17% of total caloric intake from protein. This was found in higher income group, while low income group consumed more than 80% of total caloric intake from carbohydrate. The trends of major causes of death in Korea have changed. The degenerative diseases, cerebral disorder, high blood pressure became leading cause of death in recent years. Malignant neoplasm and diabetes followed second leading cause of death in Korea. Undernutrition and nutritional insufficiencies, anemia and low growth rate continue to exist among low income group. According to the annual death rate by age group, the age between 34-54 was the highest in the world.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adolescent↗

Primary care services. In search of alternative ways of providing services that are affordable, accessible and appropriate. A review of recent literature.

Services where the G.P. is the central health professional or "team leader" may satisfactorily provide first-contact medical services. Major problems reported in literature are related to inequity in distribution, and the fee-for-service practice that limits access for those on lower incomes and encourages high throughput. There is a heavy reliance on pharmaceuticals as the main treatment, with health promotion and educative services, and counselling, being generally low. While alternative or complementary therapies may address problems of "failed medicine", these don't answer issues of accessibility, or self-responsibility. Studies on nurse practitioners as the first contact in primary level care demonstrate that technically they can function competently and safely amongst a similar clientele, and that the clients find nurses both satisfactory and acceptable as health care providers. While the quality of care is comparable to that offered by a G.P., the cost is less, both directly to user, or more generally to society. This is related to lower costs of education and remuneration, and that lower costs of pharmaceuticals and diagnostic tests are generated. In addition, the health promotion and educative functions of nurses are overall more prominent, and effective in enhancing peoples self-responsibility in health through improving competence and awareness. User-participation and involvement in health services, and empowerment and self responsibility in health, are therefore more likely to be an outcome of a service in which health promotion and educational activities are central, rather than when medical interventions are the focus. In conclusion, this review of recent literature has raised questions about services currently provided by general practitioners, and as presently funded.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Family Practice↗

[A trial with personal physicians. Selected problems based on local evaluations].

The article discusses various issues connected to the first year of trying out a system of personal general practitioners in four Norwegian municipalities. So far, the main problem had been the uneven distribution of the population between the doctors, leading to problematic differences in work load and income. Other relevant issues are related to change of one's doctor, the doctors' cooperation with other health professionals, their availability, and the population's attitude towards the system.

Evaluation Studies as Topic↗

Blood pressure patterns among the Omani population.

The National Blood Pressure Survey aimed to determine blood pressure levels among Omanis > or = 18 years, study the epidemiological factors most related to blood pressure and suggest a programme for the management and control of hypertension in Oman. Of the 4732 people screened, 1278 (27.01%) had high blood pressure. Multiple regression analysis showed that blood pressure depended on age, body mass index and income per capita simultaneously. In a logistic regression model, adjusted risks associated with obesity and those aged > or = 45 years were significantly increased compared with the relevant different categories. A national plan of action for hypertension control and management is recommended and discussed.

Adult↗

The application of Periodontal Screening and Recording (PSR) in a military population.

Periodontal Screening and Recording trade mark (PSR) is a diagnostic screening tool for the early detection of periodontal disease. The purposes of this study are to utilize PSR to estimate the periodontal health status of a representative military population and to compare the results with other studies of varying populations. When used to evaluate the periodontal health of a randomly-selected military population, PSR demonstrated the following: (1) males and females had a similar prevalence of being designated PSR+ (having PSR Code 3 score in two or more sextants or a PSR Code 4 score in at least one sextant), (2) Blacks and Hispanics had a similar prevalence of PSR+, and (3) both groups were twice as likely to be PSR+ as were Caucasians. Although income did not appear to be a significant predictor of PSR+, PSR+ did appear to be inversely proportional to education levels. When comparing PSR scores by sextant, the following was noted: (1) the maxillary central sextant was the most disease-free, (2) the mandibular central sextant most often presented with calculus, (3) mucogingival defects were observed more frequently in maxillary posterior sextants, and (4) the maxillary right sextant demonstrated the most destruction from periodontal disease.

Adolescent↗

Mothers tended to overreport categorical infant birth weight of their children.

OBJECTIVES: We validated infant birth weight by interview with mothers. STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING: Infant birth weights obtained from maternal interview were compared with the data documented in birth certificates. Study subjects were mothers of 1,432 schoolchildren who participated in a diabetes mass screening program in 1992-1997, Taiwan. Data of infant birth weight obtained from telephone interview with mothers were compared with those from birth certificates to evaluate the accuracy of maternal report in eight categorized groups: <2,000, 2,000-2,499, 2,500-2,999, 3,000-3,499, 3,500-3,999, 4,000-4,499, 4,500-4,999, and >or=5,000 g. RESULTS: The exact agreement was as low as 15.9% but increased substantially to 67.7% if maternal reports of weight one category higher than birth registry weight were considered to be indicative of agreement. Lower orders of birth weight were significantly associated with reports of higher category. But teen mothers and/or low-income mothers were associated with lower risks of overreport. CONCLUSION: Our data suggested that birth weight-associated studies in Taiwan should "round number" to an upper category rather than a lower category to avoid serious misclassification in birth weight.

Adolescent↗

Family processes as pathways from income to young children's development.

A variety of family processes have been hypothesized to mediate associations between income and young children's development. Maternal emotional distress, parental authoritative and authoritarian behavior (videotaped mother-child interactions), and provision of cognitively stimulating activities (Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment [HOME] scales) were examined as possible mediators in a sample of 493 White and African American low-birth-weight premature infants who were followed from birth through age 5. Cognitive ability was assessed by standardized test, and child behavior problems by maternal report, when the children were 3 and 5 years of age. As expected, family income was associated with child outcomes. The provision of stimulating experiences in the home mediated the relation between family income and both children's outcomes; maternal emotional distress and parenting practices mediated the relation between income and children's behavior problems.

Chi-Square Distribution↗

The macroeconomic impact of the baby boom generation.

"This paper analyzes the impact of the Baby Boom generation on macroeconomic relationships in the United States. Using quarterly postwar data, it finds that measures of population age composition influenced real interest rates, income, inflation, and unemployment. The demographic variables complement or dominate other economic variables in reduced-form macroeconomic specifications. The paper also projects how the aging of the generation may influence future macroeconomic activity."

Age Distribution↗

[Associations between schooling, income, and body mass index among public employees at an university in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: the Pró-Saúde Study].

This study focuses on associations between schooling, income, and body mass index (BMI). The analyses are based on data from 3,963 public university employees in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, participating in phase 1 of a longitudinal study (the Pró-Saúde Study). ANOVA, Wald test, and generalized linear models were used to analyze differences between subgroups. Obesity prevalence was inversely associated with schooling, especially among women (p < 0.001). In regression analyses, schooling and per capita income were not associated with BMI among men. In women, schooling but not income was significantly and inversely associated with BMI (p < 0.001). Thus, low schooling plays an important role in the social determination of obesity, especially among women.

Adult↗

Income, health status, and insurance coverage of small group employees in a voluntary purchasing arrangement.

The ongoing health care reform discussion has highlighted the problems of insuring small group employees. Several state and private initiatives have attempted to address some of these problems through the formation of voluntary small group purchasing arrangements. This article uses data from one such initiative, Health Care Group of Arizona (HCGA), to describe the income, health status, and prior insurance of small group employees who enrolled in prepaid health plans through HCGA. It also compares employee enrollees to nonenrollees along these dimensions. The findings suggest that HCGA enrollees had relatively low incomes and that about three-quarters were without health insurance prior to enrollment. Higher income employee enrollees were more likely to report health conditions at enrollment even after controlling for other factors including age. Enrollees were less likely than nonenrollees to have prior health insurance but were more likely to be drawn from lower income groups and to report recent health conditions.

Adolescent↗

Intrahousehold food distribution: a case study of eight provinces in China.

A longitudinal survey of health and nutrition in China was undertaken in eight provinces (Liaoning, Jiangsu, Shandong, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Guangxi, Guizhou). Data were collected in 1989, 1991, 1993 and 1997. The 1991 and 1993 data were used to investigate factors affecting intrahousehold food distribution. The discrepancy score and the ratio of food share to energy share were used to describe food distribution within households. Findings indicated that, in most cases, males had a higher proportion of nutrient intake than females, particularly in the young adult group where men presented with a higher discrepancy score than women for energy and all nutrients observed. The food and nutrient distribution tends to be more favourable to the middle-aged group, although the youngest group, while accepting relatively smaller amounts of cereals, ate much bigger amounts of meat, dairy products and fruits. Household members with higher incomes are more favoured in terms of food consumption and nutrient intake. Household leaders accepted a higher share of energy and nutrients in comparison with other members of the household across all age and sex groups. Administrators and people working in service or trade industries in rural areas are favoured in terms of food distribution relative to farmers and manual workers. Well-educated people accepted a better food allocation than others and those in employment received more nutrients than the unemployed. The 'contribution rule' (individuals who make a greater contribution to the family receive a larger share of the family's food) is discussed and deemed to be applicable in explaining the discrepancy in food distribution and nutrient intake among household members.

Adolescent↗

Residential fire related deaths and injuries among children: fireplay, smoke alarms, and prevention.

BACKGROUND: The aim of the study was to describe the epidemiology of residential fire related deaths and injuries among children, and identify risk factors for these injuries through a linked dataset for the city of Dallas, Texas. METHODS: Data for all residential fires were linked with fire related injury data, using fire department records, ambulance transports, hospital admissions, and medical examiner records, for children 0-19 years of age. Causes of fires, including fireplay (children playing with fire or combustibles), arson and other causes, were determined by fire department investigation. RESULTS: From 1991-98, 76 children were injured in residential fires (39 deaths, 37 non-fatal). The highest rates occurred in the youngest children (<5 years) and in census tracts with lowest income. Fireplay accounted for 42% (32/76) of all injuries, 62% (15/24) of deaths in children 0-4 years, and 94% (13/14) of deaths from apartment and mobile home fires. Most of the fireplay related injuries (27/32, 84%) were from children playing with matches or lighters. Most started in a bedroom. Smoke alarms showed no protective efficacy in preventing deaths or injuries in fires started by fireplay or arson, but there was significant protective efficacy for a functional smoke alarm in fires started from all other causes (p<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Residential fire related injuries among children in Dallas occurred predominantly in the youngest ages (<5 years) and in poor neighborhoods. Most of the deaths, especially those in apartments and mobile homes, resulted from fireplay. Smoke alarms appeared to offer no protection against death or injury in fireplay associated fires, possibly from the nature of the child's behavior in these fires, or from the placement of the smoke alarm. Prevention of childhood residential fire related deaths may require interventions to prevent fireplay in order to be successful.

Accident Prevention↗

Relation between income inequality and mortality in Canada and in the United States: cross sectional assessment using census data and vital statistics.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the relation between mortality and income inequality in Canada with that in the United States. DESIGN: The degree of income inequality, defined as the percentage of total household income received by the less well off 50% of households, was calculated and these measures were examined in relation to all cause mortality, grouped by and adjusted for age. SETTING: The 10 Canadian provinces, the 50 US states, and 53 Canadian and 282 US metropolitan areas. RESULTS: Canadian provinces and metropolitan areas generally had both lower income inequality and lower mortality than US states and metropolitan areas. In age grouped regression models that combined Canadian and US metropolitan areas, income inequality was a significant explanatory variable for all age groupings except for elderly people. The effect was largest for working age populations, in which a hypothetical 1% increase in the share of income to the poorer half of households would reduce mortality by 21 deaths per 100 000. Within Canada, however, income inequality was not significantly associated with mortality. CONCLUSIONS: Canada seems to counter the increasingly noted association at the societal level between income inequality and mortality. The lack of a significant association between income inequality and mortality in Canada may indicate that the effects of income inequality on health are not automatic and may be blunted by the different ways in which social and economic resources are distributed in Canada and in the United States.

Canada↗

Socioeconomic distribution of smoking in a population of 10,529 New Zealanders.

AIMS: This study aimed to investigate the associations of several smoking variables with socioeconomic status. METHODS: Cross-sectional analyses of data about smoking behaviour and socioeconomic status (education, occupation and neighbourhood income) were performed using baseline data from the Fletcher Challenge-University of Auckland Heart and Health Study (10,529 participants). RESULTS: After adjustment for age and sex, lower educational level was associated with: (1) higher frequency of ever having smoked (65% of participants who had attended secondary school for fewer than two years, versus 43% of participants who had attended university; 2p < 0.0001); (2) lower likelihood of having quit (46% versus 71%; 2p < 0.0001); (3) higher likelihood of being a current smoker (35% versus 12%; 2p < 0.0001); (4) higher tobacco consumption per smoker (13 manufactured cigarettes/day versus 8 manufactured cigarettes/day; 2p < 0.0001); and (5) higher tobacco consumption per participant (1980 cigarette-equivalents/year versus 450 cigarette-equivalents/year; 2p < 0.0001). Similar, but shallower, associations of these smoking variables were observed with occupation and neighbourhood income (with the exception that tobacco consumption per smoker was not associated with neighbourhood income). The socioeconomic gradients of tobacco consumption per study participant with all three socioeconomic indicators were particularly steep among younger participants, men and Maori. CONCLUSIONS: Participants of low socioeconomic status consumed a disproportionately large amount of tobacco. Policies that prevent smoking initiation and promote smoking cessation in low socioeconomic groups are therefore needed. These should include targeting of mass media messages to low socioeconomic groups, public subsidisation of nicotine replacement therapy and higher taxes on tobacco.

Adult↗