Chemical in food linked to cancer

Bellinda Kontominas, Medical Reporter, December 4, 2007 [Link]

The White Stuff

Necia Wilden, December 4, 2007 [Link]

Kids mistakenly diagnosed with nut allergy

May 16, 2007 [Link]

APEC 2007 Health Ministers Meeting

The APEC 2007 Health Ministers Meeting was held in Sydney in June.

Media Releases

Links to the most recent Departmental media releases:

• 2007 Influenza Season

  Australia is experiencing a worse than normal influenza season in 2007, with increased numbers of cases being reported across several states and territories.

• Public Health Alert over positive case of polio in Australia

Victorian health authorities have reported a case of polio in a 22-year-old male who recently returned by plane to Australia from Pakistan.

Diabetes

National Diabetes Strategy

The National Diabetes Strategy provides a focus for coordinating the wide range of activities being undertaken across Australia to improve the prevention, early detection and management of diabetes.

Several projects under the National Diabetes Strategy have been aimed at improving the evidence base across the continuum of care for diabetes.

National Integrated Diabetes Program

The National Integrated Diabetes Program (NIDP) provides an integrated national approach to improve the prevention, early diagnosis and management of diabetes.

In the 2001-2002 Federal Budget, $43.4 million was provided over four years for the National Integrated Diabetes Program. In 2005, a further $44.2 million over 4 years was committed to the Program by the Australian Government.

National Diabetes Services Scheme

The National Diabetes Services Scheme (NDSS) provides subsidised products and information to enable people with diabetes to manage their health.

The National Diabetes Services Scheme was established in 1987 by the Australian Government. Since its inception it has been overseen by Diabetes Australia. The Scheme provides access to subsidised products for the self-management of diabetes.

Evidence Based Guidelines For Diabetes

National evidence based guidelines are being prepared for the prevention, detection and management of Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes in accordance with the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) approval and ratification process.

National evidence based guidelines are being prepared for the prevention, detection and management of Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes in accordance with the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) approval and ratification process.

The Australian Diabetes, Obesity and Lifestyle Study

The Australian Diabetes, Obesity and Lifestyle Study (AusDiab) was the first national study of diabetes prevalence in Australia. The purpose of the study was to provide estimates of the number of people with diabetes (based on blood tests) and its public health and societal impact.

Funded through the National Diabetes Strategy, the study was launched in April 1999 and concluded in January 2001. It was undertaken by a consortium of researchers led by Professor Paul Zimmet of the International Diabetes Institute.

The AusDiab report, Diabesity & Associated Disorders in Australia 2000, presents the main findings based on data collected from a stratified sample of 11,247 Australians aged 25 years or over, residing in 42 randomly selected urban and non-urban areas of Australia.

Significant findings of the study are that:

• For every known case of diabetes, there was one undiagnosed case
• About 940,000 Australians over the age of 25 years have diabetes
• The number of people with diabetes has trebled since a broadly-based blood survey was undertaken in 1981
• Almost one in four Australians aged 25 years and over has diabetes or a condition of impaired glucose metabolism. Impaired glucose metabolism is associated with a substantially increased immediate risk of heart disease as well as an increased risk of diabetes in the future.

National Diabetes Register

The National Diabetes Register was established to provide a record of Australians who have insulin treated diabetes.

Funded through the National Diabetes Strategy, the register is housed at the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. Data collection began in January 1999.

The objective of the register is to establish and maintain a national database of Australian residents with insulin treated diabetes mellitus including the:

• collection of information about new cases of insulin treated diabetes mellitus, which includes all types of diabetes
• provision of a sampling frame for ethically and scientifically approved epidemiological and clinical studies
• monitoring and reporting on the incidence of Type 1 diabetes in people under 40 years
• provision of information to health service providers and planners at Australian government, state/territory and local levels
• provision of assistance in monitoring national diabetes indicators.