A cohort study comparing cardiovascular risk factors in rural Maori, urban Maori and non-Maori communities in New Zealand.

OBJECTIVES: To understand health disparities in cardiovascular disease (CVD) in the indigenous Maori of New Zealand, diagnosed and undiagnosed CVD risk factors were compared in rural Maori in an area remote from health services with urban Maori and non-Maori in a city well served with health services. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. SETTING: Hauora Manawa is a cohort study of diagnosed and previously undiagnosed CVD, diabetes and risk factors, based on random selection from electoral rolls of the rural Wairoa District and Christchurch City, New Zealand. PARTICIPANTS: Screening clinics were attended by 252 rural Maori, 243 urban Maori and 256 urban non-Maori, aged 20-64 years. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The study documented personal and family medical history, blood pressure, anthropometrics, fasting lipids, insulin, glucose, HbA1c and urate to identify risk factors in common and those that differ among the three communities. RESULTS: Mean age (SD) was 45.7 (11.5) versus 42.6 (11.2) versus 43.6 (11.5) years in rural Maori, urban Maori and non-Maori, respectively. Age-adjusted rates of diagnosed cardiac disease were not significantly different across the cohorts (7.5% vs 5.8% vs 2.8%, p=0.073). However, rural Maori had significantly higher levels of type-2 diabetes (10.7% vs 3.7% vs 2.4%, p<0.001), diagnosed hypertension (25.0% vs 14.9% vs 10.7%, p<0.001), treated dyslipidaemia (15.7% vs 7.1% vs 2.8%, p<0.001), current smoking (42.8% vs 30.5% vs 15.2%, p<0.001) and age-adjusted body mass index (30.7 (7.3) vs 29.1 (6.4) vs 26.1 (4.5) kg/m(2), p<0.001). Similarly high rates of previously undocumented elevated blood pressure (22.2% vs 23.5% vs 17.6%, p=0.235) and high cholesterol (42.1% vs 54.3% vs 42.2%, p=0.008) were observed across all cohorts. CONCLUSIONS: Supporting integrated rural healthcare to provide screening and management of CVD risk factors would reduce health disparities in this indigenous population.

Community screening for cardiovascular risk factors and levels of treatment in a rural Maori cohort.

OBJECTIVES: To document levels of cardiovascular disease (CVD), diagnosed and undiagnosed risk factors and clinical management of CVD risk in rural Maori. METHODS: Participants (aged 20-64 years), of Maori descent and self-report, were randomly sampled to be representative of age and gender profiles of the community. Screening clinics included health questionnaires, fasting blood samples, blood pressure and anthropometric measures. Data were obtained from participants' primary care physicians regarding prior diagnoses and current clinical management. New Zealand Cardiovascular Guidelines were used to identify new diagnoses at screening and Bestpractice electronic-decision support software used to estimate 5-year CVD risk. RESULTS: Mean age of participants (n=252) was 45.7 ± 0.7, 8% reported a history of cardiac disease, 43% were current smokers, 22% had a healthy BMI, 30% were overweight and 48% obese. Hypertension was previously diagnosed in 25%; an additional 22% were hypertensive at screening. Dyslipidaemia was previously diagnosed in 14% and an additional 43% were dyslipidaemic at screening. Type-2 diabetes was previously diagnosed in 11%. Glycaemic control was achieved in only 21% of those with type-2 diabetes. Blood pressure and cholesterol were above recommended targets in more than half of those with diagnosed CVD risk factors. CONCLUSIONS: High levels of diagnosed and undiagnosed CVD risk factors, especially hypertension, dyslipidaemia and diabetes were identified in this rural Maori community. IMPLICATIONS: There is a need for opportunistic screening and intensified management of CVD risk factors in this indigenous population group.

Social phobia in an outpatient alcohol and drug treatment sample.

OBJECTIVE: To examine characteristics of patients with social phobia (SP) in alcohol and drug treatment settings and to identify features distinguishing this group from patients with and without other psychiatric conditions. METHOD: A random sample of 105 patients completing an initial assessment at two outpatient alcohol and drug treatment services were assessed and agreed to a 9 month follow-up interview, completed by n=102 (97%). At baseline the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI) was administered. Current diagnoses at baseline were used to separate the sample into those with SP (n=33), other current psychiatric disorders (OPD, n=40), and those with no current psychiatric diagnosis other than a substance use disorder (NPD, n=29). The novel methodology used in this study compared the SP group first to the NPD group to see if SP was associated with a different presentation, and then compared the SP group to the OPD group to see if any identified differences were associated with SP per se or psychopathology generally. The three groups were compared on demographic, current clinical, and past treatment utilization variables at baseline, while follow-up data were used to compare the groups on treatment outcome and treatment utilization. RESULTS: The SP group did not differ from either group in a systematic way. What differences did emerge tended to show a difference between OPD and NPD, with SP intermediate between the two, or that SP and OPD together were different from NPD. CONCLUSIONS: Despite the relatively small sample size, these findings suggest that in substance use disorder treatment settings, patients with coexisting SP do not represent a distinctly high-needs or at-risk group in the broader context of patient populations, for which coexisting psychiatric diagnoses are the norm rather than the exception.

A review of work-force development literature for the Maori addiction treatment field in Aotearoa/New Zealand.

Maori, like Indigenous Australians and other indigenous people world-wide, are simultaneously over-represented among those presenting with addiction-related problems and under-represented within various health professions. Providing the opportunity for individuals and whanau (family/extended family) to work with ethnically matched health workers is likely to increase service accessibility and to improve treatment outcomes. In New Zealand, a number of initiatives have been instigated to increase the capacity of the Maori health work-force and reduce related barriers to treatment. This article provides an analysis of relevant literature and policy documents, and identifies five strategic imperatives currently informing work-force development in the Maori alcohol and other drug (AOD) and gambling treatment sector.

Barriers to optimal care for patients with coexisting substance use and mental health disorders.

OBJECTIVE: This paper describes qualitative research that was carried out as part of a project aimed at drawing up a series of guidelines for the assessment and management for people with coexisting substance use and mental health disorders, or dual diagnosis. METHOD: A core consultation team of 14 experts with experience in the areas of both substance use and mental health in New Zealand was established to advise on the development of eight clinical scenarios. The clinical scenarios were selected to highlight a range of real life issues in the treatment of people with coexisting substance use and mental health disorders and were presented at 12 focus groups around New Zealand. The 261 participants of the focus groups were asked to comment on what was optimal management for each of the scenarios and to identify barriers to optimal care in their region. Written notes were analysed for recurring and strongly stated themes and these comprise the results of the study. RESULTS: While there was marked regional variation in treatment approaches and service structures, many of the barriers to optimal care that were identified were common to all regions. The results are considered under the headings of systems issues, clinical issues and attitudes. CONCLUSIONS: A wide variety of barriers that impede the delivery of optimal care have been identified. These range from the attitudes of individual clinicians to the structure of the systems within which they work. A system of key principles and processes for organizing treatment in a way which helps overcome these barriers is proposed.