The Medical journal of Australia
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To determine hospital-based morbidity and mortality from bacterial infections among Aboriginal people with diabetes in central Australia. ⋯ The frequency, type and severity of infections in the relatively young patients result in high personal costs to the community and financial costs to the health care system. Standard preventive measures must be implemented to control severe bacterial infections among subjects with diabetes in this socially and economically marginalised population group.
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To examine the published data on the impact of westernisation on obesity, non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM), and coronary heart disease (CHD) in Australian Aborigines. ⋯ It is suggested that insulin resistance was important to the survival of Aborigines as hunter-gatherers, but is also the underlying metabolic characteristic predisposing them to obesity, NIDDM and CHD after westernisation. Intervention strategies to prevent chronic diseases related to insulin resistance should be directed at lifestyle modification. To be effective such programmes will have to be developed and implemented at the community level.