Intrinsic capacity and ageing well for Aboriginal people in remote Western Australia: a longitudinal cohort study.

Objective: To assess intrinsic capacity, an important component of ageing well, in older Aboriginal people living in remote Western Australia.

Study Design: Longitudinal cohort study; secondary analysis of survey and clinical assessment data.

Setting: Kimberley region of Western Australia (six remote communities, and the town of Derby).

Community-based dementia risk management and prevention program for Aboriginal Australians (DAMPAA): a randomised controlled trial study protocol.

Introduction: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are the First Peoples of Australia. Up to 45% of dementia in these populations is due to potentially modifiable risk factors. The Dementia Prevention and Risk Management Program for Aboriginal Australians (DAMPAA) is an Aboriginal Health Practitioner led programme that aims to reduce cognitive decline and functional impairment in older Aboriginal people.

Strength together: examining risk and protective factors associated with dementia and cognitive impairment in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples through harmonisation of landmark studies.

Background: Rates of dementia for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are three to five times greater compared to non-Indigenous Australians, with earlier age of onset. However, the risk and protective factors that drive these higher rates vary across existing cohort studies, with minimal findings on the role of vascular risk factors beyond stroke. Harmonisation of data across studies may offer greater insights through enhanced diversity and strengthened statistical capabilities.

Prevalence of functional limitations in older remote-living Aboriginal Australians.

Introduction: To better tailor prevention and care strategies, there is a need to identify modifiable factors associated with functional impairment in older Aboriginal people, and related service needs.

Objective: To investigate the prevalence and associated factors for functional impairment in older Aboriginal people, and related service needs.

Design: Cross-sectional survey of 289 Aboriginal people aged ≥45 years living in the remote Kimberley region of Western Australia.

Medications and cognitive risk in Aboriginal primary care: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are ageing with high rates of comorbidity, yet little is known about suboptimal prescribing in this population.

Aim: The prevalence of potentially suboptimal prescribing and associated risk factors were investigated among older patients attending primary care through Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services (ACCHSs).

Methods: Medical records of 420 systematically selected patients aged ≥50 years attending urban, rural and remote health services were audited.

Potentially modifiable dementia risk factors in all Australians and within population groups: an analysis using cross-sectional survey data.

Background: Dementia is the second leading cause of disease burden in Australia. We aimed to calculate the population attributable fractions (PAFs) of dementia attributable to 11 of 12 previously identified potentially modifiable health and social risk factors (less education, hearing loss, hypertension, obesity, smoking, depression, social isolation, physical inactivity, diabetes, alcohol excess, air pollution, and traumatic brain injury), for Australians overall and three population groups (First Nations, and those of European and Asian ancestry).

Methods: We calculated the prevalence of dementia risk factors (excluding traumatic brain injury) and PAFs, adjusted for communality, from the cross-sectional National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey (2018-19), National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Survey (2014-15), National Health Survey (2017-18), and General Social Survey (2014) conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Validation of the Good Spirit, Good Life quality-of-life tool for older Aboriginal Australians.

Objective: Improving the quality of life (QoL) of older people is a key priority for governments, clinicians, researchers and service providers worldwide. However, the lack of culturally appropriate QoL tools for First Nations people is a major barrier to such efforts. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Good Spirit, Good Life (GSGL) QoL tool for older Aboriginal Australians.

Associations between diabetes, body mass index and frailty: The Western Australian Health In Men Study.

Objectives: To investigate whether diabetes and obesity are associated with frailty independently, and to determine the proportion of frailty cases attributable to each factor.

Study Design: Prospective cohort study of 4219 older men assessed in 2001-04 (time-point 1, T1), of whom 1939 were reassessed in 2008-09 (time-point 2, T2). Frailty was defined as positive responses on three or more of the five domains on the FRAIL scale: fatigue, difficulty climbing a flight of stairs (resistance), difficulty walking 100 m (ambulation), >5 illnesses, or >5% weight loss.

Vaccinating adolescents against SARS-CoV-2 in England: a risk-benefit analysis.

Objective: To offer a quantitative risk-benefit analysis of two doses of SARS-CoV-2 vaccination among adolescents in England.

Setting: England.

Design: Following the risk-benefit analysis methodology carried out by the US Centers for Disease Control, we calculated historical rates of hospital admission, Intensive Care Unit admission and death for ascertained SARS-CoV-2 cases in children aged 12-17 in England.

Strong Carers, Strong Communities: a cluster randomised controlled trial to improve wellbeing of family carers of older people in remote Aboriginal communities.

Introduction: Unpaid carers have a crucial role in supporting older people with cognitive impairment and disability, but their own health and wellbeing are often impacted. There are limited data on how carer strain, depression and empowerment may be improved for carers.

Methods: This was a cluster randomised controlled trial to compare the effect of a carer support program developed with a community-based participatory action research (PAR) approach to the delivery of information sessions to 100 carers of people aged 45 years or more living in four remote Aboriginal communities in Western Australia.

Difference in Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Attack Rate Between Children and Adults May Reflect Bias.

The epidemiology of coronavirus disease 2019 in children has been challenging to establish, owing to the high prevalence of asymptomatic infection in this population. Lower secondary attack rates in children compared with adults have been observed in household contact studies, but there is evidence that this may reflect lower testing in children and reduced exposure, rather than a genuine difference in biological susceptibility. In addition, children may shed infectious virus for a shorter period than adults and their antibody response may be less broad, with implications for both polymerase chain reaction and serological testing.

Prevalence and sites of pain in remote-living older Aboriginal Australians, and associations with depressive symptoms and disability.

Background: Pain is a growing public health problem associated with significant health and functional implications. Limited data exist for Aboriginal Australians.

Aims: To describe the prevalence, severity and sites of pain, analgesic use and associated factors, including depression and disability, in remote-living Aboriginal Australians.

The Well-Being of Carers of Older Aboriginal People Living in the Kimberley Region of Remote Western Australia: Empowerment, Depression, and Carer Burden.

To describe demographic features and well-being of carers of Aboriginal Australians aged ≥45 years in remote Western Australia. Carer burden, empowerment, and depression were assessed in 124 Aboriginal carers in four remote Aboriginal communities. Carers were aged 38.

Potentially suboptimal prescribing of medicines for older Aboriginal Australians in remote areas.

Objectives: To investigate the prevalence of polypharmacy, under-prescribing and potentially inappropriate medicine use among Aboriginal Australians living in remote Western Australia.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Setting: Six remote communities and the town of Derby in the Kimberley, Western Australia.

Assessment, incidence and factors associated with urinary incontinence in older Aboriginal Australians.

Background: Little is known about urinary incontinence in older Aboriginal Australians.

Aim: To describe urinary incontinence assessment, prevalence, incidence and associated conditions in older Aboriginal Australians.

Methods: Wave 1 consisted of 363 Aboriginal participants aged ≥45 years from Western Australia; 289 participants participated in Wave 2, with 184 included at both time points.

Mortality in a cohort of remote-living Aboriginal Australians and associated factors.

Objectives: We aimed to describe mortality in a cohort of remote-living Aboriginal Australians using electronic record linkage.

Methods: Between 2004 and 2006, 363 Aboriginal people living in remote Western Australia (WA) completed a questionnaire assessing medical history and behavioural risk factors. We obtained mortality records for the cohort from the WA Data Linkage System and compared them to data for the general population.