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Nil.

We aimed to estimate the prevalence of glaucoma in New Zealand using a population-based birth cohort of 45-year-olds.Study members of the Dunedin Multidisciplinary HealthDevelopment Study participated (n=938 out of 1037 births (91%)). The data collected included visual acuity, visual field (VF), refraction, central corneal thickness, intraocular pressure (IOP), axial length, spectral domain optical coherence tomography (OCT), and non-mydriatic fundus photographs. Two ophthalmologists reviewed data independently to generate a consensus glaucoma status: "Normal" if no suspicion of glaucoma; "Ocular hypertension" if IOP21 mmHg; "Glaucoma suspect" if optic disc photograph was suspicious for glaucoma with no more than borderline or non-corresponding VF or OCT abnormalities; and "Glaucoma" if optic disc photograph was suspicious for glaucoma and there were corresponding abnormalities of the OCT or VF.Of 891 participants with sufficient data to assign a glaucoma status, 804 were "Normal" (90.2% [CI 88.3-92.2]), 15 were "Ocular hypertension" (1.68% [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.84-2.5]), 65 were "Glaucoma suspect" (7.30% [95% CI 5.6-9.0]), and 7 were classified as "Glaucoma" (0.79% [95% CI 0.21-1.4]). An additional 73 participants (8.2%, [95% CI 6.3%-10%]) had abnormalities on the OCT scan but were not deemed to be glaucoma suspects.The prevalence of glaucoma in New Zealand is between 0.2% and 1.4%, consistent with other population-based studies in the same age group. The study highlights the sensitivity of OCT and the potential for misinterpretation and over-investigation.

A national suicide prevention strategy for New Zealand was developed in 2006. There is relatively little strong evidence for the efficacy of many existing suicide prevention initiatives, and this area has frequently been captured by strong claims about the effectiveness of programmes that have not been adequately evaluated. This paper provides a conceptual framework for classifying suicide prevention initiatives, reviews evidence for their effectiveness, and makes recommendations for initiatives to be undertaken as part of suicide prevention activities in New Zealand. The available evidence thus far suggests that the most promising interventions likely to be effective in reducing suicidal behaviours are medical practitioner and gatekeeper education, and restriction of access to lethal means of suicide. This evidence also suggests a clear agenda for research, which includes evaluating interventions and prevention programmes, developing model and demonstration projects, identifying meaningful outcome measures, and refining and identifying the critical elements of effective programmes.

To compare the health of the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study members with people of the same age in the nationally representative New Zealand Health and National Nutrition Surveys.Where similar information was obtained, means or proportions and confidence intervals were generated for both the age 26 assessment of the Dunedin sample and for the 25-26 year old participants in the national surveys. The populations were considered to differ when confidence intervals did not overlap.For smoking habit, body mass index, waist-hip ratio, general practitioner and medical specialist consultations, and hospital admissions, the findings of the Dunedin Study were not significantly different to the nationally representative surveys. The Dunedin Study members also did not differ from their national counterparts on SF-36 subscales measuring physical functioning, bodily pain, general health, vitality, and mental health. They had better scores on the three interference subscales of the SF-36 compared to the national sample, and men in the Dunedin Study spent a little more time doing vigorous physical activity.For most outcomes, the Dunedin Study members were very similar to the nationally representative samples. There was little evidence that the repeated assessments in the Dunedin Study had significantly altered the Study members' health, either in terms of responses to questionnaires or on physiological measures of health status. Findings from the Dunedin Study are likely to be generalisable to most young New Zealanders. However, the Dunedin Study is under-representative of Maori and Pacific peoples, so these findings need to be interpreted with caution in this context. Implications for the proposed national Longitudinal Study of New Zealand Children and Families are discussed.

To determine the prevalence and correlates of bowel symptoms and the irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) in a birth cohort of young New Zealanders.Participants in the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study at age 26 completed a validated Bowel Disease Questionnaire expressing their experience of clearly defined symptoms over the previous 12 months.980 participants (499 male, 481 female, comprising 96% of the birth cohort) completed the questionnaire. Sixty four per cent had at least one of the measured symptoms; abdominal pain was reported in 46.5%, chronic constipation in 9.1%, and chronic diarrhoea in 17.1%. A diagnosis of IBS could be made by using two or more of Manning's diagnostic criteria in 18.8%, three or more criteria in 10.3%, and more than three in 3.3%. Symptoms were more than twice as frequent and severe in females than males.Bowel-related abdominal symptoms, including those required for a diagnosis of IBS, are very common in 26-year-old New Zealanders; the prevalence of these symptoms is very similar to that recorded previously in Europe and the USA.