AIM The aim of this study was to describe the characteristics at enrolment of children and adolescents referred to an obesity programme and to determine how the prevalence of comorbidities differed in Indigenous versus non-Indigenous children. METHODS Participants were residents of a semi-rural region of New Zealand (NZ). Eligibility was defined by a body mass index (BMI) of ≥98th percentile ...

INTRODUCTION Obesity and low levels of physical activity are increasing among Pacific and Maori adolescents in New Zealand. AIM To assess the feasibility of an after-school exercise and lifestyle programme to improve cardiorespiratory fitness, health and usual activity in less-active Pacific and Maori adolescents over six weeks. METHODS Eighteen less-active secondary school students partici...

A stratified random sample of 176 men was taken from a larger community prostate study group of 1405 eligible subjects from three ethnic groups in the Wellington region of New Zealand, in order to examine ethnic differences in exposure to cadmium (Cd), selenium (Se) and zinc (Zn) and possible associations of blood levels of Cd, Se and Zn with the prevalence of elevated serum Prostate Specific A...

Previous research has demonstrated that the two main ethnolects of New Zealand English display distinct rhythmic qualities (e.g., Warren 1998; Szakay 2006). Using the normalized vocalic Pairwise Variability Index (PVI) to measure rhythm, as suggested by Grabe and Low (2002), Szakay (2006) showed that Maori English is significantly more syllable-timed than Pakeha English, the main variety used b...

BACKGROUND Family carers, as a "shadow workforce", are foundational to the day-to-day integration of health service delivery for older family members living with complex health needs. This paper utilises Haggerty's model of continuity of care to explore the contribution of family carers' to the provision of care and support for an older family member's chronic condition within the context of he...

AIM To assess the change in admission rates for all Lower Respiratory Infection (LRI) including pneumonia for children resident in Counties Manukau District Health Board (CMDHB) with the introduction of the Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine 7 valent (PCV7) in June 2008. METHOD National Minimum dataset ICD10 coded LRI admissions to any NZ hospital August 2001-July 2011 for children <2 year reside...