Chronic disease prevalence and associations in a cohort of Australian men: The Florey Adelaide Male Ageing Study (FAMAS)

There is no author summary for this article yet. Authors can add summaries to their articles on ScienceOpen to make them more accessible to a non-specialist audience.

Abstract

Background

An increasing proportion of Australia's chronic disease burden is carried by the ageing male. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of asthma, cancer, diabetes, angina and musculoskeletal conditions and their relationship to behavioural and socio-demographic factors in a cohort of Australian men.

Methods

Self-reports of disease status were obtained from baseline clinic visits (August 2002 – July 2003 & July 2004 – May 2005) from 1195 randomly selected men, aged 35–80 years and living in the north-west regions of Adelaide. Initially, relative risks were assessed by regression against selected variables for each outcome. Where age-independent associations were observed with the relevant chronic disease, independent variables were fitted to customized multiadjusted models.

Results

The prevalence of all conditions was moderately higher in comparison to national data for age-matched men. In particular, there was an unusually high rate of men with cancer. Multiadjusted analyses revealed age as a predictor of chronic conditions (type 2 diabetes mellitus, angina, cancer & osteoarthritis). A number of socio-demographic factors, independent of age, were associated with chronic disease, including: low income status (diabetes), separation/divorce (asthma), unemployment (cancer), high waist circumference (diabetes), elevated cholesterol (angina) and a family history of obesity (angina).

Conclusion

Socio-demographic factors interact to determine disease status in this broadly representative group of Australian men. In addition to obesity and a positive personal and family history of disease, men who are socially disadvantaged (low income, unemployed, separated) should be specifically targeted by public health initiatives.

Related collections

Most cited references 65

Record: found
Abstract: found
Article: not found

Active smoking and the risk of type 2 diabetes: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Carole Willi, Patrick Bodenmann, William A Ghali … (2007)

Observational studies have suggested an association between active smoking and the incidence of type 2 diabetes. To conduct a systematic review with meta-analysis of studies assessing the association between active smoking and incidence of type 2 diabetes. A search of MEDLINE (1966 to May 2007) and EMBASE (1980 to May 2007) databases was supplemented by manual searches of bibliographies of key retrieved articles, reviews of abstracts from scientific meetings, and contact with experts. Studies were included if they reported risk of impaired fasting glucose, impaired glucose tolerance, or type 2 diabetes in relationship to smoking status at baseline; had a cohort design; and excluded persons with diabetes at baseline. Two authors independently extracted the data, including the presence or absence of active smoking at baseline, the risk of diabetes, methods used to detect diabetes, and key criteria of study quality. Relative risks (RRs) were pooled using a random-effects model. Associations were tested in subgroups representing different patient characteristics and study quality criteria. The search yielded 25 prospective cohort studies (N = 1.2 million participants) that reported 45 844 incident cases of diabetes during a study follow-up period ranging from 5 to 30 years. Of the 25 studies, 24 reported adjusted RRs greater than 1 (range for all studies, 0.82-3.74). The pooled adjusted RR was 1.44 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.31-1.58). Results were consistent and statistically significant in all subgroups. The risk of diabetes was greater for heavy smokers (> or =20 cigarettes/day; RR, 1.61; 95% CI, 1.43-1.80) than for lighter smokers (RR,1.29; 95% CI, 1.13-1.48) and lower for former smokers (RR, 1.23; 95% CI, 1.14-1.33) compared with active smokers, consistent with a dose-response phenomenon. Active smoking is associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes. Future research should attempt to establish whether this association is causal and to clarify its mechanisms.

0 comments Cited 424 times – based on 0 reviews      Review now

Bookmark

Record: found
Abstract: found
Article: not found

The prevalence of rheumatoid arthritis in the United Kingdom: new estimates for a new century.

P Asten, M Lunt, Brandon Scott … (2002)

It is 40 yr since the last age- and sex-specific estimates of the prevalence of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) for the UK were published. Since then the classification criteria for RA have been revised and there has been evidence of a fall in the incidence of RA, especially in women. To estimate the age- and sex-specific point prevalence of RA (defined as fulfilment of a modification of the 1987 ACR classification criteria for RA on the day of assessment). The estimate was made in the primary care setting in Norfolk, UK. A stratified random sample was drawn from seven age and gender bands. The 7050 individuals selected were mailed a screening questionnaire. Positive responders were invited to attend for a clinical examination. The sample was matched against the names in the Norfolk Arthritis Register (NOAR), a register of incident cases of inflammatory polyarthritis which has been in existence since 1990. The overall response rate was 82%. Sixty-six cases of RA were identified. Extrapolated to the population of the UK, the overall minimum prevalence of RA is 1.16% in women and 0.44% in men. A number of incident cases of RA previously notified to NOAR were not identified as cases in the survey because they had entered into treatment-induced remission. In addition, some cases who failed to attend for examination had significant disability. These prevalence figures are therefore an underestimate. The prevalence of RA in women, but not in men, in the UK may have fallen since the 1950s.

0 comments Cited 139 times – based on 0 reviews      Review now

Bookmark

Record: found
Abstract: found
Article: not found

The epidemiology of obesity and asthma.

Earl S. Ford (2005)

The prevalences of asthma and obesity have increased substantially in recent decades in many countries, leading to speculation that obese persons might be at increased risk of asthma development. In adults cross-sectional, case-control, prospective, and weight-loss studies are in the aggregate consistent with a role for obesity in the pathogenesis of asthma. In children 3 of 4 prospective studies also show a significant association between excess weight and asthma incidence. Because of the methodologic shortcomings of many studies, these findings are inconclusive, however. Population surveys do suggest that persons with asthma are disproportionately obese compared with persons who have never had asthma. Weight-loss studies on the basis of behavioral change and bariatric studies have shown substantial improvements in the clinical status of many obese patients with asthma who lost weight. Clarifying the nature of the relationship between obesity and asthma incidence and the role of weight management among patients with asthma are both critical areas with important ramifications for the prevention and treatment of asthma.

0 comments Cited 97 times – based on 0 reviews      Review now

Bookmark

All references

Author and article information

Journal

Journal ID (nlm-ta): BMC Public Health

Title: BMC Public Health

Publisher: BioMed Central

ISSN (Electronic): 1471-2458

Publication date Collection: 2008

Publication date (Electronic): 30 July 2008

Volume: 8

Page: 261

Affiliations

[1 ]Discipline of Medicine, Freemasons Foundation Centre for Men's Health, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, 5000, Australia

[2 ]Spencer Gulf Rural Health School – Whyalla Campus, University of South Australia, Whyalla-Norrie, SA, 5608, Australia

[3 ]Population Research and Outcome Studies Unit, Department of Health, Government of South Australia, SA, 5000, Australia

[4 ]Department of Public Health, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, 5000, Australia

[5 ]FAMAS (Florey Adelaide Male Aging Study), University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia

Article

Publisher ID: 1471-2458-8-261

DOI: 10.1186/1471-2458-8-261

PMC ID: 2531108

PubMed ID: 18664294

SO-VID: 1999fd97-c1ea-4bb3-acb0-73019c66916e

License:

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Chronic disease prevalence and associations in a cohort of Australian men: The Florey Adelaide Male Ageing Study (FAMAS)

Read this article at

Abstract

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusion

Related collections

Global Health Next Generation Network

Most cited references 65

Active smoking and the risk of type 2 diabetes: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

The prevalence of rheumatoid arthritis in the United Kingdom: new estimates for a new century.

The epidemiology of obesity and asthma.

Author and article information

Journal

Affiliations

Article

History

Categories

Comments

Comment on this article

Similar content 240

Cited by 7

Most referenced authors 702