The Medical journal of Australia
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Comparative Study
Suicide among young Australians, 1964-1993: an interstate comparison of metropolitan and rural trends.
(i) To compare suicide rates in 15-24 year old men and women; and (ii) for 15-24 year old men, to investigate differences in suicide rates between metropolitan and rural area, and changes in method-specific suicide rates and, in particular, firearm and hanging suicide rates in rural and metropolitan areas. ⋯ All Australian States reflect national suicide trend in relation to sex and residential area. In some States, particular suicide methods predominate. A decreasing trend in overall firearm suicide rates in young men in all States from 1984 to 1993 conceals substantial increases in firearm suicide rates in small rural areas in all mainland States over the 30-year period. This, together with the marked rate ratio difference in firearm suicides between metropolitan and small rural areas, suggests that particular risk factors for suicide are operating in small rural areas. The fact that hanging rate ratios changed little suggests that more general factors in male youth suicide are also operating in all areas. A better understanding of similarities and differences in health risks faced by metropolitan and rural youth is required.
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To determine the utility of various autoantibodies in predicting progression to clinical diabetes in first-degree relatives of patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus. ⋯ Type 1 diabetes can be diagnosed in the preclinical stage. The recently described antibodies to glutamic acid decarboxylase and tyrosine phosphatase IA2 appear superior to ICA as screening tools for the preclinical diagnosis of type 1 diabetes.
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To collect data on incidents of potential or actual harm to general practice patients and to evaluate the possible causes of these incidents. ⋯ Human error and preventable system problems were identified. The incident monitoring technique provided useful data which could be applied to incident prevention strategies.