Open AccessMortality trends, 1965 to 1989, in Busselton, the site of repeated health surveys and interventions
Author(s) -
Knuiman Matthew W.,
Cullen† Kevin J.,
Bulsara Max K.,
Welborn Timothy A.,
Hobbs Michael S.T.
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
australian journal of public health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.946
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1753-6405
pISSN - 1035-7319
DOI - 10.1111/j.1753-6405.1994.tb00213.x
Subject(s) - poisson regression , psychological intervention , medicine , demography , obesity , gerontology , mortality rate , environmental health , population , surgery , psychiatry , sociology
Abstract: The community of Busselton in Western Australia has participated in repeated cross‐sectional health surveys and other health interventions since 1966. Health surveys of adults were conducted every three years from 1966 to 1981. Health interventions, including programs for high blood pressure, smoking, high blood cholesterol levels and obesity, were implemented in the community. Mortality rates for the Busselton area are compared with rates for the remainder of the southwest region of Western Australia in an attempt to determine if the surveys and associated interventions have had any impact on survival. Statistical comparisons via Poisson regression analysis showed that mortality rates for males over the period 1965 to 1989 in Busselton declined at a similar rate to the southwest. However, for females, especially those aged 45 to 74 years, mortality rates declined significantly faster in Busselton than in the southwest, suggesting a beneficial impact on survival of the surveys and associated interventions.