Risk factors for pertussis hospitalizations in Australians aged 45 years and over: A population based nested case-control study.

Although studies have described factors associated with pertussis hospitalization in children, data on adult hospitalization are sparse. We examined the association between patient characteristics and hospitalization among older adults with pertussis. We conducted a nested case-control study of participants in the 45 and Up prospective cohort in New South Wales, Australia, with an incident pertussis diagnosis during 2006-2012.

Tracking funded health intervention research.

Objective: To describe the research publication outputs from intervention research funded by Australia's National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC).

Design And Setting: Analysis of descriptive data and data on publication outputs collected between 23 July 2012 and 10 December 2013 relating to health intervention research project grants funded between 1 January 2003 and 31 December 2007.

Main Outcome Measures: Stages of development of intervention studies (efficacy, effectiveness, replication, adaptation or dissemination of intervention); types of interventions studied; publication output per NHMRC grant; and whether interventions produced statistically significant changes in primary outcome variables.

Categorising major cardiovascular disease hospitalisations from routinely collected data.

Unlabelled: Objectives and importance of the study: Routine hospital administrative data provide an important source of information about cardiovascular disease (CVD) for health statistics reporting, health services and research. How such conditions are classified and grouped has implications for the use and interpretation of these data. International Classification of Diseases (ICD) diagnosis codes from hospital data collections are often used to classify CVD, but there is little published evidence on the most appropriate ways to use these codes to categorise CVD in a way that maximises the usefulness of hospital data for reporting and research.

Applications of system dynamics modelling to support health policy.

Introduction: The value of systems science modelling methods in the health sector is increasingly being recognised. Of particular promise is the potential of these methods to improve operational aspects of healthcare capacity and delivery, analyse policy options for health system reform and guide investments to address complex public health problems. Because it lends itself to a participatory approach, system dynamics modelling has been a particularly appealing method that aims to align stakeholder understanding of the underlying causes of a problem and achieve consensus for action.

Using conjoint analysis to develop a system of scoring policymakers' use of research in policy and program development.

Background: The importance of utilising the best available research evidence in the development of health policies, services, and programs is increasingly recognised, yet few standardised systems for quantifying policymakers' research use are available. We developed a comprehensive measurement and scoring tool that assesses four domains of research use (i.e.

National trachoma surveillance annual report, 2012.

Australia remains the only developed country to have endemic levels of trachoma (a prevalence of 5% or greater among children) in some regions. Endemic trachoma in Australia is found predominantly in remote and very remote Aboriginal communities. The Australian Government funds a National Trachoma Surveillance and Reporting Unit to collate, analyse and report trachoma prevalence data and document trachoma control strategies in Australia through an annual surveillance report.

What factors contribute to positive early childhood health and development in Australian Aboriginal children? Protocol for a population-based cohort study using linked administrative data (The Seeding Success Study).

Introduction: Australian Aboriginal children are more likely than non-Aboriginal children to have developmental vulnerability at school entry that tracks through to poorer literacy and numeracy outcomes and multiple social and health disadvantages in later life. Empirical evidence identifying the key drivers of positive early childhood development in Aboriginal children, and supportive features of local communities and early childhood service provision, are lacking.

Methods And Analysis: The study population will be identified via linkage of Australian Early Development Census data to perinatal and birth registration data sets.

Using conjoint analysis to develop a system to score research engagement actions by health decision makers.

Background: Effective use of research to inform policymaking can be strengthened by policymakers undertaking various research engagement actions (e.g., accessing, appraising, and applying research).

How Can the Use of Evidence in Mental Health Policy Be Increased? A Systematic Review.

Objective: The aim of this review was to explore what is known about the effectiveness of strategies to increase the use of research in mental health policies.

Methods: PsycINFO, MEDLINE, PubMed and EMBASE were searched for peer-reviewed journal articles by using the terms information dissemination OR knowledge OR diffusion of innovation OR knowledge transfer OR knowledge exchange OR evidence based OR evidence informed AND mental health policy OR decision makers. Searches were limited to articles pertaining to humans, written in English, and published from 1995 to 2013.

Sociodemographic and health characteristics, rather than primary care supply, are major drivers of geographic variation in preventable hospitalizations in Australia.

Background: Geographic rates of preventable hospitalization are used internationally as an indicator of accessibility and quality of primary care. Much research has correlated the indicator with the supply of primary care services, yet multiple other factors may influence these admissions.

Objective: To quantify the relative contributions of the supply of general practitioners (GPs) and personal sociodemographic and health characteristics, to geographic variation in preventable hospitalization.

Smoking and potentially preventable hospitalisation: the benefit of smoking cessation in older ages.

Aims: Reducing preventable hospitalisation is a priority for health systems worldwide. This study sought to quantify the contribution of smoking to preventable hospitalisation in older adults and the potential benefits of smoking cessation.

Methods: Self-reported smoking data for 267,010 Australian men and women aged 45+ years linked with administrative hospital data were analysed using Cox's models to estimate the effects on risk of hospitalisation for congestive heart failure (CHF), diabetes complications, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and angina.

The relationship between body mass index and hospitalisation rates, days in hospital and costs: findings from a large prospective linked data study.

Background: Internationally there is limited empirical evidence on the impact of overweight and obesity on health service use and costs. We estimate the burden of hospitalisation-admissions, days and costs-associated with above-normal BMI.

Methods: Population-based prospective cohort study involving 224,254 adults aged ≥45y in Australia (45 and Up Study).

Cardiovascular disease risk factor profiles of 263,356 older Australians according to region of birth and acculturation, with a focus on migrants born in Asia.

Risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD), such as obesity, diabetes, hypertension and physical inactivity, are common in Australia, but the prevalence varies according to cultural background. We examined the relationship between region of birth, measures of acculturation, and CVD risk profiles in immigrant, compared to Australian-born, older Australians. Cross-sectional data from 263,356 participants aged 45 and over joining the population-based 45 and Up Study cohort from 2006-2008 were used.

Risk factors for herpes zoster in a large cohort of unvaccinated older adults: a prospective cohort study.

We analysed data from a prospective cohort of 255,024 adults aged ⩾45 years recruited from 2006-2009 to identify characteristics associated with a zoster diagnosis. Diagnoses were identified by linkage to pharmaceutical treatment and hospitalization records specific for zoster and hazard ratios were estimated. Over 940,583 person-years, 7771 participants had a zoster diagnosis; 253 (3·3%) were hospitalized.

Characteristics of antidepressant medication users in a cohort of mid-age and older Australians.

Objectives: We aimed to investigate antidepressant use, including the class of antidepressant, in mid-age and older Australians according to sociodemographic, lifestyle and physical and mental health-related factors.

Methods: Baseline questionnaire data on 111,705 concession card holders aged ⩾45 years from the 45 and Up Study-a population-based cohort study from New South Wales, Australia-were linked to administrative pharmaceutical data. Current- and any-antidepressant users were those dispensed medications with Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical classification codes beginning N06A, within ⩽6 months and ⩽19 months before baseline, respectively; non-users had no antidepressants dispensed ⩽19 months before baseline.

Relationship between lifestyle and health factors and severe lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) in 106,435 middle-aged and older Australian men: population-based study.

Background: Despite growing interest in prevention of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) through better understanding of modifiable risk factors, large-scale population-based evidence is limited.

Objective: To describe risk factors associated with severe LUTS in the 45 and Up Study, a large cohort study.

Design, Setting, And Participants: A cross-sectional analysis of questionnaire data from 106,435 men aged ≥ 45 years, living in New South Wales, Australia.

Managing osteoporosis with FRAX® in Australia: proposed new treatment thresholds from the 45&Up Study cohort.

Introduction: Many people at high risk of fractures are not following traditional guidelines and not being recommended for intervention. This study aimed to propose and evaluate a new set of intervention thresholds.

Methods: Participants were 213,375 men and women aged ≥50 years living in New South Wales, Australia.

An overview of global rice production, supply, trade, and consumption.

Rice is the staple food for over half the world's population. Approximately 480 million metric tons of milled rice is produced annually. China and India alone account for ∼50% of the rice grown and consumed.

Development and validation of a risk score predicting risk of colorectal cancer.

Background: Quantifying the risk of colorectal cancer for individuals is likely to be useful for health service provision. Our aim was to develop and externally validate a prediction model to predict 5-year colorectal cancer risk.

Methods: We used proportional hazards regression to develop the model based on established personal and lifestyle colorectal cancer risk factors using data from 197,874 individuals from the 45 and Up Study, Australia.

Inequalities in unintentional injuries between indigenous and non-indigenous children: a systematic review.

Background: Indigenous children suffer a disproportionally high burden of unintentional injuries. A more detailed understanding of the underlying causes, risk factors and gaps in research is required to inform prevention efforts and direct future research. The aim of this review was to systematically assess the evidence regarding differences in rates of unintentional injuries between indigenous and non-indigenous children and to identify leading causes and underlying risk factors contributing to these differences.

Exploring disparities in acute myocardial infarction events between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australians: roles of age, gender, geography and area-level disadvantage.

We investigated disparities in rates of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people in the 199 Statistical Local Areas (SLAs) in New South Wales, Australia. Using routinely collected and linked hospital and mortality data from 2002 to 2007, we developed multilevel Poisson regression models to estimate the relative rates of first AMI events in the study period accounting for area of residence. Rates of AMI in Aboriginal people were more than two times that in non-Aboriginal people, with the disparity greatest in more disadvantaged and remote areas.

Hospitalisations for pelvic inflammatory disease temporally related to a diagnosis of Chlamydia or gonorrhoea: a retrospective cohort study.

Objectives: The presence and severity of pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) symptoms are thought to vary by microbiological etiology but there is limited empirical evidence. We sought to estimate and compare the rates of hospitalisation for PID temporally related to diagnoses of gonorrhoea and chlamydia.

Methods: All women, aged 15-45 years in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW), with a diagnosis of chlamydia or gonorrhoea between 01/07/2000 and 31/12/2008 were followed by record linkage for up to one year after their chlamydia or gonorrhoea diagnosis for hospitalisations for PID.

Health behaviours and potentially preventable hospitalisation: a prospective study of older Australian adults.

Objective: Several studies have demonstrated the effects of health behaviours on risk of chronic diseases and mortality, but none have investigated their contribution to potentially preventable hospitalisation (PPH). We aimed to quantify the effects on risk of PPH of six health behaviours: smoking; alcohol consumption; physical activity; fruit and vegetables consumption; sitting time; and sleeping time.

Design/setting: Prospective observational study in New South Wales, Australia.

Genital warts and chlamydia in Australian women: comparison of national population-based surveys in 2001 and 2011.

Objectives: Australia introduced a nationwide human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination programme for women aged 12-26 years in 2007 and has implemented various chlamydia control strategies over the last 10 years. We compared reported diagnoses of warts and chlamydia in two national population-based samples surveyed 10 years apart.

Methods: An Australia-wide survey of women aged 18-39 years was conducted by random-digit dialling mobile phone numbers in 2011.