The Medical journal of Australia
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To describe the trends in maternal smoking and smoking in the household for a cohort of Indigenous women followed from late pregnancy to 7 months postpartum. ⋯ While an apparent reduction in indoor exposure to tobacco smoke during the postpartum period is encouraging, this is offset by an increase in the proportion of antenatal non-smokers who subsequently reported smoking after the birth of their child. More health care service delivery and research attention needs to be directed to smoking during pregnancy and to postpartum relapse in this population.
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To describe the clinical and epidemiological features of sepsis and severe sepsis in the population of the tropical Top End of the Northern Territory of Australia and compare these with published estimates for temperate Australia, the United States and Europe. ⋯ The incidence of sepsis in the tropical NT is substantially higher than that for temperate Australia, the United States and Europe, and these differences are mainly accounted for by the high rates of sepsis in Indigenous people. The findings support strategies to improve housing and access to health services, and reduce comorbidities, alcohol and tobacco use in Indigenous Australians. The burden of sepsis in indigenous populations worldwide requires further study to guide appropriate resourcing of health care and preventive strategies.
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To describe the epidemiology of infectious syphilis among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (Indigenous) people in Australia. ⋯ These data demonstrate that Australia has two distinct patterns of infectious syphilis: a substantially declining occurrence in Indigenous remote communities and an increasing incidence in males residing in urban and regional areas. Given the decline in notification rates in Indigenous remote communities, now might be the right time to move toward eliminating infectious syphilis from Indigenous communities.
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Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander doctors walking in both worlds for the benefit of all Australians.