A cross-sectional survey of environmental health in remote Aboriginal communities in Western Australia

Melody, Shannon; Bennett, Ellen; Clifford, Holly D.; Johnston, Fay H.; Shepherd, Carrington; Alach, Zachary; Lester, Matthew; Wood, Lisa; Franklin, Peter; Zosky, Graeme R.

doi:10.1080/09603123.2016.1194384

Cited by 39 publications

(46 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…This is problematic because of the few studies that have, Indigenous people have been found to be more susceptible to respiratory and ischaemic heart disease from, for example, exposure to PM 2.5 , Hanigan et al 2008. Sources of air pollution in rural areas, particularly natural sources such as bush fires and dust storms, may inequitably affect Indigenous communities, compounding their health burden from air pollution exposure (Knibbs and Sly 2014, Masterman-Smith et al 2016, Melody et al 2016. Our changing climate may serve as an additional factor in exacerbating these health burdens on Indigenous Australians, as well as intensifying emissions from natural sources in rural areas (Webb et al 2014.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Inequalities in exposure to the air pollutants PM_2.5 and NO₂ in Australia

Cooper

Green

Knibbs

2019

Environ. Res. Lett.

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Vulnerable subpopulations may be exposed to higher levels of outdoor air pollution than the rest of the population. Due to the potential for this to exacerbate their existing health burden, concerns about disparities in subpopulations' air pollution exposure have motivated international public health researchers to examine this topic. In Australia, such research is lacking to date, despite heterogeneity in air pollution at multiple spatial scales across the continent. This study aimed to investigate disparities in exposure to two health-relevant outdoor air pollutants: particulate matter <2.5 μm (PM 2.5 ) and nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ). We used national land-use regression models to estimate annual average concentrations of PM 2.5 and NO 2 , and area-level census data on ethnicity, age and socioeconomic status (SES) to calculate the bivariate associations between each census-derived variable with the concentration of air pollutants. We also used multivariable models including specific measures of SES as covariates to assess to what extent associations were explained by SES. Associations were calculated separately for rural and urban areas using generalised additive models which accounted for spatial autocorrelation. Bivariate results showed significant nonlinear associations (p < 0.001) between vulnerable subpopulations and pollutant concentration. These associations suggested that areas with greater socio-economic disadvantage, a higher proportion of ethnic minorities, and elderly people are exposed to higher concentrations of PM 2.5 and NO 2 , although differences in the magnitude of exposure were small overall. Our multivariable models showed that the associations between ethnic minorities and pollutant concentration appear to be substantially affected by area-level SES. Our results suggested that these vulnerable subpopulations are inequitably exposed to PM 2.5 and NO 2 . While the magnitude of differences in exposure were generally small, the predicted differences in exposure among vulnerable subpopulations could contribute to a potentially avertable health burden at a population-level.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Inequalities in exposure to the air pollutants PM_2.5 and NO₂ in Australia

Cooper

Green

Knibbs

2019

Environ. Res. Lett.

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“…2 A large burden of skin disease in Indigenous Australians has been reported, but mainly in children; [20][21][22] we found that the negative impact of skin infections extends into adulthood. Indigenous communities with housing problems and overcrowding as environmental risk factors are more likely to report skin conditions as health problems, 23 and streptococcal skin infections are associated with acute post-infectious glomerulonephritis and CKD. 24 The association between infections and AKI in our study reinforces the importance of addressing the underlying environmental and economic determinants of health, and of reducing barriers to identifying and treating infections in a timely manner.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Acute kidney injury in Indigenous Australians in the Kimberley: age distribution and associated diagnoses

Mohan

Atkinson

Rosman³

et al. 2019

Medical Journal of Australia

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Objective To describe the frequencies of acute kidney injury (AKI) and of associated diagnoses in Indigenous people in a remote Western Australian region. Design Retrospective population‐based study of AKI events confirmed by changes in serum creatinine levels. Setting, participants Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander residents of the Kimberley region of Western Australia, aged 15 years or more and without end‐stage kidney disease, for whom AKI between 1 June 2009 and 30 May 2016 was confirmed by an acute rise in serum creatinine levels. Main outcome measures Age‐specific AKI rates; principal and other diagnoses. Results 324 AKI events in 260 individuals were recorded; the median age of patients was 51.8 years (IQR, 43.9–61.0 years), and 176 events (54%) were in men. The overall AKI rate was 323 events (95% CI, 281–367) per 100 000 population; 92 events (28%) were in people aged 15–44 years. 52% of principal diagnoses were infectious in nature, including pneumonia (12% of events), infections of the skin and subcutaneous tissue (10%), and urinary tract infections (7.7%). 80 events (34%) were detected on or before the date of admission; fewer than one‐third of discharge summaries (61 events, 28%) listed AKI as a primary or other diagnosis. Conclusion The age distribution of AKI events among Indigenous Australians in the Kimberley was skewed to younger groups than in the national data on AKI. Infectious conditions were common in patients, underscoring the significance of environmental determinants of health. Primary care services can play an important role in preventing community‐acquired AKI; applying pathology‐based criteria could improve the detection of AKI.

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“…gedrängten Wohnverhältnissen lebten [20]. Ähnliche Ergebnisse liegen für das Infektionsrisiko mit akuten Atemwegserkrankungen auch aus anderen westlichen Ländern vor [21,22]. Gedrängte Wohnverhältnisse könnten also möglicherweise auch ein Risikofaktor für eine SARS-CoV-2-Infektion sein, wie erste Berichte aus den USA und Großbritannien vermuten lassen [23,24].…”

Section: Soziale Ungleichheit Und Covid-19-risikofaktorenunclassified

Soziale Ungleichheit und COVID-19: Sozialepidemiologische Perspektiven auf die Pandemie

Wachtler

Hoebel

2020

Gesundheitswesen

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ZusammenfassungDie neue Coronavirus-Erkrankung (COVID-19) trifft bestimmte Bevölkerungsgruppen stärker als andere. Sozialepidemiologische Muster der Pandemie, die über Alters- und Geschlechterunterschiede hinausgehen, sind bislang jedoch kaum erforscht. Für Deutschland liegen bisher nur sehr wenige Befunde zu den sozialen Determinanten von COVID-19 vor. Erste Berichte aus anderen westlichen Industrieländern lassen erkennen, dass Menschen in sozioökonomisch deprivierten Regionen und People of Color ein erhöhtes Risiko haben, schwer an COVID-19 zu erkranken und daran zu versterben. Hierfür dürften soziale Ungleichheiten im Infektionsrisiko, die sich durch unterschiedliche Lebens- und Arbeitsbedingungen ergeben, wie auch soziale Ungleichheiten in der Suszeptibilität und den Risikofaktoren für schwere COVID-19-Krankheitsverläufe, insbesondere das Vorhandensein von Vorerkrankungen, eine wesentliche Rolle spielen. Diese sind auch für Deutschland umfassend dokumentiert. Somit kann angenommen werden, dass auch hierzulande Menschen mit einem niedrigen sozioökonomischen Status besonders stark betroffen sein könnten, was vermutlich erst im weiteren Verlauf der Pandemie mehr zutage treten wird. Auch die sozialen, ökonomischen und psychosozialen Folgen der Maßnahmen, die zur Eindämmung der Pandemie getroffen werden, könnten verschiedene sozioökonomische Gruppen ungleich stark treffen. Damit hat die COVID-19-Pandemie insgesamt das Potenzial, soziale und gesundheitliche Ungleichheiten zu verstärken. Es braucht sozialepidemiologische Untersuchungen des COVID-19-Geschehens, um Maßnahmen des Gesundheits- und Infektionsschutzes zielgruppengerecht, evidenzbasiert und unter Berücksichtigung gesundheitlicher Chancengerechtigkeit weiterentwickeln zu können.

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A cross-sectional survey of environmental health in remote Aboriginal communities in Western Australia

Abstract: Poor environmental health is prevalent in remote Aboriginal communities and requires further delineation to inform environmental health policy.

Cited by 39 publications

References 24 publications

Inequalities in exposure to the air pollutants PM_2.5 and NO₂ in Australia

Inequalities in exposure to the air pollutants PM_2.5 and NO₂ in Australia

Acute kidney injury in Indigenous Australians in the Kimberley: age distribution and associated diagnoses

Soziale Ungleichheit und COVID-19: Sozialepidemiologische Perspektiven auf die Pandemie

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A cross-sectional survey of environmental health in remote Aboriginal communities in Western Australia

Abstract: Poor environmental health is prevalent in remote Aboriginal communities and requires further delineation to inform environmental health policy.

Cited by 39 publications

References 24 publications

Inequalities in exposure to the air pollutants PM2.5 and NO2 in Australia

Inequalities in exposure to the air pollutants PM2.5 and NO2 in Australia

Acute kidney injury in Indigenous Australians in the Kimberley: age distribution and associated diagnoses

Soziale Ungleichheit und COVID-19: Sozialepidemiologische Perspektiven auf die Pandemie

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Inequalities in exposure to the air pollutants PM_2.5 and NO₂ in Australia

Inequalities in exposure to the air pollutants PM_2.5 and NO₂ in Australia