Age-specific norms and determinants of anxiety and depression in 731 women with breast cancer recruited through a population-based cancer registry

The aim of this study was to determine population norms and determinants of anxiety and depression in a population-based sample of 731 women with breast cancer (aged 23–60 years) with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression scale (HADS). The prevalence of ‘probable’ psychological morbidity due to anxiety was 23% and due to depression was 3%. When the women identified as ‘possible’ cases were included, the respective proportions were 45 and 12%. Higher anxiety was present in younger, less educated women not born in Australia. There was no clear pattern of risk factors for depression. These population-based findings highlight the need for clinicians to be aware that age, education and country of birth may identify a particularly vulnerable subgroup. While brief scales such as the HADS are limited in their ability to accurately predict a clinical diagnosis, high scores identify those who may warrant referral for clinical evaluation.

Investigation of overweight and obesity management in a rural primary health care setting

Background : The rural region of interest has one main central medical clinic and several smaller outlying clinics. The services available for weight management include dietetic services, community-based groups and bariatric surgery. At present, no formal area specific referral pathway exists for the treatment of overweight and obesity.
Aims & rationale/Objectives : To investigate general practitioners':
- assessment practices and experiences with overweight and obese clients
- experience of different treatment options for overweight and obesity
- perceived barriers to overweight and obesity management.
Methods : A self-administered survey will be sent to general practitioners within the region of interest. The survey was designed to investigate current methods of assessing overweight and obesity; treatment options; and perceived barriers to successful weight management. Participants will also be offered a brief interview to discuss the following topics; Usefulness of NHMRC's Overweight and Obesity Guidelines; barriers and frustrations of weight management, GP's and dietitian's roles in overweight and obesity treatment.
Principal findings : It is expected the principal findings will include details about methods used to determine overweight and obesity; factors considered when selecting patients for treatment; favoured treatment options of GPs; perceived barriers and frustrations of managing overweight and obese patients.
Discussion : Overweight and obesity are significant health issues in Australia, with recent data indicating more than 60% of Australian adults are affected (NHMRC, 2003). Studies have also suggested that the prevalence of overweight and obesity is higher in rural populations (Coulson, 2005). GPs have been recognised as an important contributor in the treatment of overweight and obesity (Campbell, 2000). There have been guidelines produced to assist GPs, however the extent to which guidelines are utilised or their perceived effectiveness have not yet been investigated.
Implications : It is thought that an investigation into current methods of assessing overweight and obesity; treatment options; and perceived barriers to successful weight management will provide valuable information to inform primary health care service provision and future quality improvement directions.
Presentation type : Poster
Session theme : Primary health care delivery

Determinants of electronic commerce adoption in small businesses in New Zealand

The findings of this thesis suggest that the inexpensive nature of eCommerce, the extent of CEO innovativeness, the need to remain competitive, the relevance of the Internet to the type of business, the SME's size and the apparent compatibility of eCommerce in business were the only determinants of eCommerce adoption in SMEs in New Zealand.

Determinants of visual size constancy in different orientations in light and darkness

This project was concerned with the perception of size constancy of simple, elongated and planar objects in the light and dark. The main findings are: transverse, vertical and medial axes give rise to different degrees of size constancy; true size and shape of the objects proved to be a factor in size constancy; the size-distance invariance hypothesis (SDIH) cannot explain underconstancy in the light, and perfect constancy in the dark.

Determinants of time-to-contact judgements

The experiments reported in this thesis investigated the visual information used by observers to judge the time-to-contact (TTC) of approaching objects. The results provide support for the proposition that TTC judgements are based on retinal image expansion rate and observers' prior experience with the objects.

Financial and non-financial determinants of delisting and emergence from rehabilitation

The objective of this thesis was to derive two models: the first, to predict which companies on the Stock Exchange of Thailand would join the Companies Under Rehabilitation (REHABCO) sector; and the second to predict which companies in the REHABCO sector would go on to be delisted from there.

Determinants of intra-ASEAN exports and imports

Analyses the factors which explain the behaviour of intro-ASEAN exports and imports including the real exchange rate, real income, the industrial production capacity, and other factors; namely foreign direct investment and industrialisation policies, regionalism and emerging new markets.

Determinants of member-union satisfaction in Australian amalgamated unions

The ACTU amalgamation and rationalisation strategy was successful in reducing the number of unions. However Australian union membership has plunged. The empirical research data extends the existing Australian industrial relations research in several respects and may be used as a bench-mark for future longitudinal research into Australian member-union satisfaction.

Intramuscular determinants of the VO₂ slow component in trained cyclists

Fifteen trained male cyclists had muscle biopsies and performed cycling tests to determine if relationships exist between the oxygen uptake response and various intramuscular variables. It was found that muscle oxidative capacity is better able to explain the oxygen uptake response during high intensity cycling than muscle fiber distribution.

Determinants of epidemic susceptibility and the role of ICTs : a preliminary framework for acute type response in Kerala State

In a developing nation such as India, the national government is pursuing the pathway of ICT supported decentralized programs, to combat endemics, in the social contexts of each State.  The State of Kerala, which has been a exemplar for development, has become susceptible to endemics, brough in by urbanization and non-resident Indian population and compounded be environmental disasters.  In this paper, the authors contend that the psyche of the community which has changed from social amity to self-interest need to be re-awakened with the power ot ICTs and Internet, so as to efficiently combat endemics.  The authors propose a preliminary framework for emergency responses bases on the ICS developed by FEMA in USA and recommended by Indian national government, to suit the context of the State.

Skipping breakfast : longitudinal associations with cardiometabolic risk factors in the childhood determinants of adult health study

Background: The long-term effects of skipping breakfast on cardiometabolic health are not well understood.

Objective: The objective was to examine longitudinal associations of breakfast skipping in childhood and adulthood with cardiometabolic risk factors in adulthood.

Design: In 1985, a national sample of 9–15-y-old Australian children reported whether they usually ate breakfast before school. During follow-up in 2004–2006, 2184 participants (26–36 y of age) completed a meal-frequency chart for the previous day. Skipping breakfast was defined as not eating between 0600 and 0900. Participants were classified into 4 groups: skipped breakfast in neither childhood nor adulthood (n = 1359), skipped breakfast only in childhood (n = 224), skipped breakfast only in adulthood (n = 515), and skipped breakfast in both childhood and adulthood (n = 86). Diet quality was assessed, waist circumference was measured, and blood samples were taken after a 12-h fast (n = 1730). Differences in mean waist circumference and blood glucose, insulin, and lipid concentrations were calculated by linear regression.

Results: After adjustment for age, sex, and sociodemographic and lifestyle factors, participants who skipped breakfast in both childhood and adulthood had a larger waist circumference (mean difference: 4.63 cm; 95% CI: 1.72, 7.53 cm) and higher fasting insulin (mean difference: 2.02 mU/L; 95% CI: 0.75, 3.29 mU/L), total cholesterol (mean difference: 0.40 mmol/L; 95% CI: 0.13, 0.68 mmol/L), and LDL cholesterol (mean difference: 0.40 mmol/L; 95% CI: 0.16, 0.64 mmol/L) concentrations than did those who ate breakfast at both time points. Additional adjustments for diet quality and waist circumference attenuated the associations with cardiometabolic variables, but the differences remained significant.

Conclusions: Skipping breakfast over a long period may have detrimental effects on cardiometabolic health. Promoting the benefits of eating breakfast could be a simple and important public health message.