Australian journal of public health
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Aust J Public Health · Jun 1993
Community-based cholesterol screening and education to prevent heart disease: five-year results of the North Coast Cholesterol Check Campaign.
A cardiovascular disease screening and education campaign was conducted throughout the North Coast Region of New South Wales from 1987 to 1991. Objectives were: to screen 20 per cent of the adult population for blood cholesterol and other heart disease risk factors; to raise awareness of the risks associated with a high-fat diet; to provide nutrition counselling and referral advice for those with elevated cholesterol; and to monitor these participants' cholesterol levels with a follow-up test at three months. During the five years, 42,869 individuals or 18 per cent of North Coast adults participated, with some overrepresentation of women aged 40 to 60 years. ⋯ There was a tendency for initially lower cholesterol levels to increase over a three-year period. Contributing factors included aging, regression to the mean and complacency. Maintenance may be enhanced by regular reinforcement of nutrition changes and development of more supportive environments.
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Aust J Public Health · Sep 1992
Teenage pregnancy and fertility in New South Wales: an examination of fertility trends, abortion and birth outcomes.
This paper reviews the data available in New South Wales on teenage fertility rates and pregnancy outcomes. Teenage births comprise six per cent of all births in New South Wales, but they constitute a significant public health problem because they are associated with elevated rates of adverse pregnancy outcomes, which include low birthweight, perinatal death and pre-eclampsia. Risk is concentrated in females under 18 years of age. ⋯ There are large geographic variations in teenage fertility within the state, with the highest rates in the far west of New South Wales and in western Sydney. Teenage pregnancy in New South Wales (as distinct from fertility which reflects births) cannot be assessed accurately because of the lack of information on terminations of pregnancy. However, available data suggest that teenage pregnancy rates have not increased during the 1980s.
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Aust J Public Health · Mar 1991
Comparative StudyThe effect of 'standard drink' labelling on the ability of drinkers to pour a 'standard drink'.
Australia's National Health Policy on Alcohol has recommended that beverage containers be labelled so that alcohol content is 'readily understandable by the public'. Health promotion to increase the responsible use of alcohol now relies extensively on the concept of a standard drink--usually defined as 10 g of ethyl alcohol. Numerous difficulties confront a drinker who wishes to apply the standard drink system to monitor alcohol intake. ⋯ Wine drinkers had equal difficulty with this task whether standard drink or percentage labels were used. The addition of a 'ladder' up the side of a wine bottle with graduations in standard drinks would be necessary for wine drinkers to achieve a high level of accuracy. We conclude that labelling drink containers with their alcohol content in terms of standard drinks would better equip all drinkers to follow the advice of health educators.