Search

ABSTRACT The mortality in children who were aged 0–14 years in the Northern Territory in 1983–1985 was 2.5‐times higher than it was for Australia generally over the same period. Total accidental‐death rates over the period 1979–1983 in Aboriginal children were 2.2‐times higher than in non‐Aboriginal children. A trend towards an excess in Aboriginal child mortality was present in most categories except drowning and was particularly noteworthy for deaths due to natural and environmental causes (predominantly caused by box‐jellyfish stings). Non‐Aboriginal children experienced higher rates of death due to drowning than they did elsewhere in Australia; most of these occurred in domestic swimming‐pools. A higher mortality was encountered in rural areas. The pattern of motor‐vehicle‐related deaths differed between Aboriginal children and non‐Aboriginal children, with the former experiencing a greater number of deaths due to non‐collision accidents that involved “loss of control”. The implications of these findings for the development of appropriate preventive strategies is discussed.

In the context of a wider prospective investigation into the effects of cumulative exposure to lead, in uteroand postnatally, on the outcome of pregnancy and growth and development in early childhood, 831 pregnant women who were living in Port Pirie, South Australia, the site of Australia's largest lead smelter, were recruited between May 1979 and May 1982, and the various factors that were likely to influence their blood lead concentration were examined. No significant difference in blood lead level was found among different stages of pregnancy. Higher concentrations of blood lead were measured in women who resided in areas of high soil lead content and in women who had resided in Port Pirie for three or more years. A low socioeconomic status, the use of water from the reticulated water supply rather than rainwater, an age of 21 years or less, a high body mass index, a low dietary intake of calcium, and cigarette smoking were all factors that were associated with a higher blood lead concentration. Lower blood lead concentrations were observed in women who took iron and folic acid to supplement their diet. Multiple regression analysis of average antenatal blood lead levels confirmed most of the univariate associations.

A survey of 3660 Year 10 students, with an average age of 15 years, was carried out in a random sample of Adelaide secondary schools to determine the prevalence of structural scoliosis and the need for implementing a programme of scoliosis screening. By means of the Forward Bending Test and a specially devised scoring system 144 (3.9%) children were found to have signs that were suggestive of scoliosis; all but 12 were assessed subsequently by standardized clinical and radiological examinations. One hundred and three children were found to have structural scoliosis of 5° or more; this represented a prevalence of 3.1%. The prevalence in girls (4.3%) was significantly higher than in boys (1.9%), and girls tended to have more severe curves and require treatment more frequently. Only one third (34) of the cases of structural scoliosis had been detected before this survey; most (28) of these had been detected through an earlier, subsequently discontinued, school screening programme. This study concludes that screening for scoliosis by means of a scored Forward Bending Test should be carried out in South Australian schools for all students in Year 8 and for girls in Year 10. The policy of screening boys in Year 8 should be the subject of further research. An educational programme for health professionals, parents, students and physical education teachers should support the programme.

A cohort of over 600 children who were born between 1979 and 1982 and accounted for the great majority of all births in Port Pirie, South Australia, and its immediate environs, underwent capillary blood sampling at the ages of 6 months, 15 months, 2 years, and annually thereafter. The mean blood lead concentration (Pb‐B) initially rose markedly, peaked at 2 years of age, and subsequently declined gradually at 3 and 4 years of age. No differences in Pb‐B were observed between girls and boys. Secular trends in Pb‐B at the age of 2 years that were observed in blood samples taken over the 1981‐1984 period suggest that both the drought of 1982 and changes in community behaviour may have accounted for some of the age‐related variation. The Pb‐B was associated positively with surface soil lead concentrations, with a two‐fold variation in mean Pb‐B between residential zones within Port Pirie. Pb‐B was higher in summer than in winter months at the ages of 6 and 15 months, but not at older ages. These findings suggest that lead in dust influences strongly blood lead concentrations in early childhood.