The Dubbo study: an Australian prospective community study of the health of elderly

Abstract

The proportion of Australian population over 60 years has risen progressively over the last 40 years and this growth is projected to continue. Major health problems of the elderly include coronary heart disease, cerebro-vascular disease, osteoporosis and fracture. The risk factors for coronary heart disease and stroke in middle-aged subjects have been extensively documented in prospective studies in Australia and elsewhere, and include lipid disorders, hypertension, cigarette smoking, diabetes and family history. Few prospective studies have been targeted exclusively on the elderly and information available with respect to vascular risk factors is fragmentary and contradictory. This is the background to a new prospective study of the health of elderly Australians now under way in Dubbo, NSW. The goals of the Dubbo Study are to identify predictors of mortality, hospitalisation and placement in long-term care, while specific aims are the study of risk factors for chronic diseases and disability. This report describes the study rationale, reasons for selecting Dubbo as the study site, methods and measures, participation rates and demography. The target population included all non-institutionalised subjects 60 years and over, domiciled in Dubbo, and is comprised of 1693 males and 2167 females. The attendance rate for an extensive medical and sociological baseline assessment over a 13 months' period was 73% for both sexes. The prospective study is now in place and within three to five years will be generating definitive information in the elderly.

Genetic profiling and individualized prognosis of fracture

“…(20)(21)(22)(23) Briefly, in 1989, all men and women aged 60 years or above (as of 1989) living in Dubbo, a city of approximately 32,000 people 400 km northwest of Sydney (Australia), were invited to participate in an epidemiologic study. At that time, the population consisted of 1581 men and 2095 women aged 60 years or older, of whom 98.6% were white and 1.4% were indigenous aboriginal.…”

“…Dubbo had been selected for the study because the age and gender distribution of its population closely resembled the Australian population, (22) and it is relatively isolated in terms of medical care so that virtually complete ascertainment of all fractures in the target population is possible.…”

Non‐steroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs and hypertension in the elderly: a community‐based cross‐sectional study.

“…Such a high prevalence of NSAID usage may be generalised to the non-institutionalised elderly Australian population since the Dubbo population closely resembled the Australian elderly on numerous demographic, sociological and health-related variables (Simons et al, 1990(Simons et al, , 1991.…”

“…Any adverse influence of NSAIDs on elderly population. (Simons et al, 1990(Simons et al, , 1991 (Feinstein, 1985).…”

Metabolic syndrome influencing infarct size and heart failure in patients with acute coronary syndrome — does gender matter?

“…According to literature MetS is a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases [12][13][14]. Some authors say it is particularly prominent in the population of middleaged males [15], while others find that correlation to be stronger in the older population [16][17][18]. Differences in age and in the influence of MetS on cardiovascular morbidity and mortality could be caused by so far undiscovered geographic factors in particular areas of world (Finland versus Australia and New Zealand, respectively).…”