Papua and New Guinea medical journal
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Comparative Study
Thyroid function in a formerly goitrous community on Karkar Island, Papua New Guinea.
During a survey of noncommunicable disease conducted on Karkar Island, Madang Province in 1986, measures of thyroid function were examined in adult residents of a formerly goitrous village (Gamog) and a neighbouring community (Marup) with no history of iodine deficiency or endemic goitre. In Gamog, almost 20% of males and almost 30% of females had palpable goitre (maximum prevalence at ages 35-54 years) but visible goitres were not encountered. However, thyroid function tests were generally similar in the two groups, suggesting that iodine deficiency is no longer an appreciable problem for adults in Gamog. ⋯ Correction of the iodine deficiency in the Gamog community began with the program of iodized oil injections, which was undertaken in the 1970s. The current lack of iodine deficiency is probably due in the main to dietary change associated with the introduction of the cash economy. This effect may have occurred in many formerly goitrous communities in Papua New Guinea in recent years, although persistence of iodine deficiency in some parts of the country should not be discounted.
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In a retrospective study of 130 out of 141 consecutive cases of antepartum haemorrhage admitted to the Obstetrics Unit of the Port Moresby General Hospital in the three years 1987 to 1989, 33% had abruptio placentae, 48% had placenta praevia and in 19% the cause of the APH could not be determined. Delivery was by caesarean section in 56% of cases compared to a caesarean section rate of 3% for the total obstetric population. Stillbirth rates per 1000 total births were 223 for all the 130 cases, 81 for the praevia group, 488 for the abruptio group and 120 for the indeterminate group. The stillbirth rate for all deliveries in the hospital in the year 1989 was 21.5/1000.