The Medical journal of Australia
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To assess and compare health care costs for normal-weight, overweight and obese Australians. ⋯ The total annual direct cost of overweight and obesity in Australia in 2005 was $21 billion, substantially higher than previous estimates. There is financial incentive at both individual and societal levels for overweight and obese people to lose weight and/or reduce WC.
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To examine the perception and management of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk in Australian primary care. ⋯ These data confirm substantial undertreatment of patients who are at high risk of a cardiovascular event. We recommend that GPs assess absolute risk for older patients and ensure that high-risk patients receive evidence-based pharmacotherapy.
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Practice Guideline
CICADA: Cough in Children and Adults: Diagnosis and Assessment. Australian cough guidelines summary statement.
Cough is a common and distressing symptom that results in significant health care costs from medical consultations and medication use. Cough is a reflex activity with elements of voluntary control that forms part of the somatosensory system involving visceral sensation, a reflex motor response and associated behavioural responses. At the initial assessment for chronic cough, the clinician should elicit any alarm symptoms that might indicate a serious underlying disease and identify whether there is a specific disease present that is associated with chronic cough. ⋯ In ADULTS, conditions that are associated with removable causes or respond well to specific treatment include protracted bacterial bronchitis, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor use, asthma, GORD, obstructive sleep apnoea and eosinophilic bronchitis. In CHILDREN, diagnoses that are associated with removable causes or respond well to treatment are exposure to environmental tobacco smoke, protracted bronchitis, asthma, motor tic, habit and psychogenic cough. In ADULTS, refractory cough that persists after therapy is managed by empirical inhaled corticosteroid therapy and speech pathology techniques.
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To determine the prevalence of trachoma among Indigenous Australians. ⋯ Blinding endemic trachoma remains a major public health problem in many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. Although active trachoma is predominantly seen in very remote communities, scarring and blinding sequelae occur among Indigenous people across the country. The Australian Government's recent commitment to eliminate blinding trachoma is welcomed and much needed.