International alcohol control study: pricing data and hours of purchase predict heavier drinking.

BACKGROUND: This study reports findings from the International Alcohol Control (IAC) study that assesses the impact of alcohol control policy on consumption and policy-related behaviors. Modeled on the International Tobacco Control study that uses longitudinal surveys with comparison between countries, the baseline survey was carried out in New Zealand. This study reports analysis of the purchasing behavior respondents report separately for on- and off-premise outlets, providing validation data for both alcohol consumption and reported prices. METHODS: New Zealand is a high-income country with an adult per capita alcohol consumption (as of 2011) of 9.5 l. The survey was carried out among a nationally representative sample of drinkers. Interview data on place and time of purchase, amounts purchased, price paid, and consumption (beverage and location specific) was collected. Relationships between policy relevant variables and consumption were modeled taking into account demographic variables. Validation was provided by government data on alcohol available for consumption, aggregate expenditure and prices from the Consumer Price Index. RESULTS: Drinkers paying low prices at on- or off-licensed premises had higher odds of consuming 6+ drinks on a typical occasion, as did drinkers purchasing alcohol at later times. Regarding frequency, drinkers purchasing at later times were more likely to be daily drinkers. Lower price in off licenses but not on licenses predicted daily drinking. The data collected accounted for approximately 96% of alcohol available for consumption and the prices accounted for 98% of aggregate expenditure. CONCLUSIONS: Valid survey data were collected to give an accurate picture of alcohol consumption and prices paid by drinkers. Heavy drinkers were more likely to buy cheaper alcohol and purchase at later times; 2 policy issues under discussion in many settings. This analysis suggests the IAC study that has the potential to provide data to contribute to the debate on appropriate policy responses to reduce alcohol-related harm.

Self-reported experience of racial discrimination and health care use in New Zealand: results from the 2006/07 New Zealand Health Survey.

OBJECTIVES: We investigated whether reported experience of racial discrimination in health care and in other domains was associated with cancer screening and negative health care experiences. METHODS: We used 2006/07 New Zealand Health Survey data (n = 12 488 adults). We used logistic regression to examine the relationship of reported experience of racial discrimination in health care (unfair treatment by a health professional) and in other domains (personal attack, unfair treatment in work and when gaining housing) to breast and cervical cancer screening and negative patient experiences adjusted for other variables. RESULTS: Racial discrimination by a health professional was associated with lower odds of breast (odds ratio [OR] = 0.37; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.14, 0.996) and cervical cancer (OR = 0.51; 95% CI = 0.30, 0.87) screening among Maori women. Racial discrimination by a health professional (OR = 1.57; 95% CI = 1.15, 2.14) and racial discrimination more widely (OR = 1.55; 95% CI = 1.35, 1.79) were associated with negative patient experiences for all participants. CONCLUSIONS: Experience of racial discrimination in both health care and other settings may influence health care use and experiences of care and is a potential pathway to poor health.

The pervasive effects of racism: experiences of racial discrimination in New Zealand over time and associations with multiple health domains.

Self-reported experience of racial discrimination has been linked to a range of health outcomes in various countries and for different ethnic groups. This study builds on previous work in New Zealand to further investigate the prevalence of self-reported experience of racial discrimination by ethnicity, changes over time and associations with multiple health measures. The study uses data from the 2002/03 (n=12,500) and 2006/07 (n=12,488) New Zealand Health Surveys, nationally representative population-based surveys of adults (15+ years). Reported experience of racial discrimination was measured in both surveys and covered 5 items: experience of an ethnically motivated physical or verbal attack; and unfair treatment because of ethnicity by a health professional, in work, or when gaining housing. Ethnicity was classified as Maori, Pacific, Asian or European. Health indicators included measures of: mental health (SF36 mental health scale, psychological distress, doctor diagnosed mental health condition); physical health (self-rated health, SF36 physical functioning scale, cardiovascular disease); and health risk (smoking, hazardous drinking, excess body fat). Logistic regression was used to examine changes in prevalence of reported experience of racial discrimination over time and associations with health. Reported experience of racial discrimination increased between 2002/03 (28.1% ever) and 2006/07 (35.0% ever) among Asian peoples but remained largely unchanged for other ethnic groupings (Maori 29.5%, Pacific 23.0%, European 13.5%). Experience of racial discrimination was associated with all negative health measures except excess body fat. Where there were significant associations, a dose-response relationship was also evident. We conclude that racial discrimination experienced across a range of settings has the potential to impact on a wide range of health outcomes and risk factors. While ongoing research is needed to understand the multifarious nature of racism and the pathways by which it leads to poor health, it is feasible to monitor experiences of racial discrimination in national surveys.

Characteristics and quitting success of roll-your-own versus tailor-made cigarette smokers.

AIMS: Roll-your-own (RYO) tobacco use is exceptionally high in New Zealand with 61% of current smokers using it exclusively or in conjunction with tailor-made (TM) cigarettes. This study examines the characteristics of RYO users and their likelihood of quitting smoking compared to TM and mixed tobacco users. METHODS: A random sample of Quitline callers with a booster sample of Maori, was invited to participate in a telephone survey three times within a 12-month period. The response rates for the first survey were 57% for Maori and 63% for non-Maori, resulting in a total of 2002 participants. Among these participants, 64% completed the 6-month follow-up and 42% completed the entire study. Two participants were excluded from this analysis as they smoked neither RYO nor TM. We compared the eligible participants' characteristics and quitting outcomes by tobacco type. Quit status was assessed by 7-day abstinence at 6- and 12-month and we used a conservative approach to treat missing cases. RESULTS: RYO use was common among particular smokers such as Maori, male, and low socioeconomic status subjects. When sociodemographic and smoking variables were controlled for using a logistic regression model, quit rates were not different by tobacco type. DISCUSSION: This study confirms the different characteristics of RYO, TM and mixed tobacco users, and fills a gap of limited research about quitting success of RYO smokers.

Monitoring the performance of New Zealand's National Cervical Screening Programme through data linkage.

AIM: To describe the method developed by the National Cervical Screening Programme (NCSP) for review of cases of cervical cancer; present results from the first 4 years of the review and compare these results with those of the earlier New Zealand Cervical Cancer Audit. METHODS: Linkage of cervical cancer registrations from the New Zealand Cancer Registry to smear histories from the NCSP Register via the National Health Index, for the 4-year period 2003-06. RESULTS: A total of 625 women were registered with cervical cancer from 2003-06, of whom 438 were eligible for linkage (women diagnosed with squamous or adenosquamous cervical cancer at <80 years of age). Of these 438 eligible cases, 348 were histologically invasive and 90 were microinvasive. Unlike histological stage, clinical FIGO stage was missing in approximately 50%. Linkage to screening history revealed that 202 of the 438 eligible women (46%) had never been enrolled in the NCSP; 137 (31%) were enrolled but had only been infrequently or irregularly screened; and 85 (20%) developed cancer despite regular screening (data were missing for 3 women). These results were similar to those found in the New Zealand Cervical Cancer Audit, covering the period 2000-2002. CONCLUSIONS: Ongoing linkage of cancer data to screening data can be used to monitor the performance of the NCSP. Our finding that 80% of potentially preventable cervical cancers involve women who are not enrolled in the Programme or who have been only infrequently and irregularly screened, confirms that improving Programme coverage (currently around 72%) remains a priority. Further investigation (phase 2) is required for the small number of women who develop cervical cancer despite regular screening (average of 21 per year, or approximately 20% of eligible cases), to distinguish interval cancers from possible Programme quality issues.

Did it fall or was it pushed? The contribution of trends in established risk factors to the decline in premature coronary heart disease mortality in New Zealand.

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the contribution of trends in three risk factors--systolic blood pressure (SBP), total blood cholesterol (TBC) and cigarette smoking--to the decline in premature coronary heart disease (CHD) mortality in New Zealand from 1980-2004. METHOD: Risk factor prevalence data by 10-year age group (35-64 years) and sex was sourced from six national or Auckland regional health surveys and three population censuses (the latter only for smoking). The data were smoothed using two-point moving averages, then further smoothed by fitting quadratic regression equations (SBP and TBC) or splines (smoking). Risk factor/CHD mortality hazard ratios estimated by expert working groups for the World Health Organization Global Burden of Disease Study 2001 were used to translate average annual changes in risk factor prevalences to the corresponding percentage changes in premature CHD mortality. The expected trends in CHD mortality were then compared with the observed trend to estimate the contribution of each risk factor to the decline. FINDINGS: Approximately 80% (73% for males, 87% for females) of the decline in premature CHD mortality from 1980 to 2004 is estimated to have resulted from the joint trends in population SBP and TBC distributions and smoking prevalence. Overall, approximately 42%, 36% and 22% of the joint risk factor effect was contributed by trends in SBP, TBC and smoking respectively. CONCLUSION: Our estimate for the joint risk factor contribution to the CHD mortality decline of 80% exceeds those of two earlier New Zealand studies, but agrees closely with a similar Australian study. This provides an indicator of the scope that still remains for further reduction in CHD mortality through primary and secondary prevention.

Do healthy and unhealthy behaviours cluster in New Zealand?

OBJECTIVE: To describe the co-occurrence and clustering of healthy and unhealthy behaviours in New Zealand. METHOD: Data were sourced from the 2002/03 New Zealand Health Survey. Behaviours selected for analysis were tobacco use, quantity and pattern of alcohol consumption, level of physical activity, and intake of fruit and vegetables. Clustering was defined as co-prevalence of behaviours greater than that expected based on the laws of probability. Co-occurrence was examined using multiple logistic regression modelling, while clustering was examined in a stratified analysis using age and (where appropriate) ethnic standardisation for confounding control. RESULTS: Approximately 29% of adults enjoyed a healthy lifestyle characterised by non-use of tobacco, non- or safe use of alcohol, sufficient physical activity and adequate fruit and vegetable intake. This is only slightly greater than the prevalence expected if all four behaviours were independently distributed through the population i.e. little clustering of healthy behaviours was found. By contrast, 1.5% of adults exhibited all four unhealthy behaviours and 13% exhibited any combination of three of the four unhealthy behaviours. Unhealthy behaviours were more clustered than healthy behaviours, yet Maori exhibited less clustering of unhealthy behaviours than other ethnic groups and no deprivation gradient was seen in clustering. DISCUSSION: The relative lack of clustering of healthy behaviours supports single issue universal health promotion strategies at the population level. Our results also support targeted interventions at the clinical level for the 15% with 'unhealthy lifestyles'. Our finding of only limited clustering of unhealthy behaviours among Maori and no deprivation gradient suggests that clustering does not contribute to the greater burden of disease experienced by these groups.

Co-occurrence and clustering of tobacco use and obesity in New Zealand: cross-sectional analysis.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the co-occurrence and clustering/aversion of tobacco use and obesity in New Zealand. METHOD: Data were sourced from the 2002/03 New Zealand Health Survey, a nationally representative household survey that included measured body mass index (BMI) and self-reported smoking status. The association of cigarette smoking, obesity, and the combination of these risk factors with socio-demographic variables was analysed by multiple logistic regression. Clustering/aversion (defined as observed prevalence of [smoking + obesity] > or < expected prevalence, where expected prevalence = prevalence of [smoking] x prevalence of [obesity]) was also estimated. RESULTS: The joint prevalence of smoking plus obesity in the adult population (15+ years) was 4.5%. However, this was 10% for Maori and 8.5% for deprivation quintile 5. Adjusting for relevant covariates, Maori were twice as likely to have both risk factors as non-Maori. A smooth deprivation gradient was found, with deprivation quintile 1 (least deprived) only one-fifth as likely to have both risk factors as quintile 5 (most deprived). There was no evidence of clustering, and aversion (negative clustering) was demonstrated only for middle-aged adults and for Maori. DISCUSSION: Since smoking cessation is associated with weight gain, substantial aversion might have been expected across all subgroups, yet this was not found. The most likely explanations are that the extent of weight gain associated with smoking cessation has been overestimated or is often not sustained. Even so, health promotion and clinical interventions need to take the dually exposed population into account, addressing not only the unhealthy behaviours themselves but also the social context in which dual exposure occurs.