An Indication of New Zealanders' Health 2007
31 October 2007
An Indication of New Zealanders' Health 2007
The Ministry of Health is pleased to announce the release of the report An Indication of New Zealanders' Health 2007.
The paper provides a snapshop of the health of the population, and An Indication of New Zealanders’ Health 2007 is the latest report in a series monitoring the health of the New Zealand population produced by Public Health Intelligence, the epidemiology group of the Ministry of Health.
The report has been developed to provide an easy-to-use collection of health data on key issues affecting the health status of New Zealanders. It provides a reference for national and regional policy makers and service planers to identify health issues of importance and to measure the outcomes of interventions.
The
information presented in the report contains demographics,
socioeconomic indicators, and health outcome and
risk/protective factors for New Zealand and District Health
Board (DHB) regions. The report features 71 different
health and health-related indicators that highlight some of
the key health issues for New Zealanders.
The
indicators were chosen because they:
-address the New Zealand Health Strategy priority population health objectives
-focus on salient health issues
-are responsive to change
-are reliable
and validly monitored
Some notable excerpts from the
report include:
– Approximately two-thirds of New
Zealanders aged 15 years and over consumed the recommended
three or more servings of vegetables per day, and about
one-half consumed the recommended two or more servings of
fruit per day (Ministry of Health 2003).
– About
half of New Zealand adults aged 15+ years were either
overweight (34.0%) or obese (20.1%).
– All
cardiovascular disease mortality and ischaemic heart disease
mortality rates as well as cancer registrations and
mortality rates were significantly higher in males than in
females.
– The prevalence of diabetes
(self-reported, doctor-diagnosed) was significantly lower in
European/Other than in other ethnic groups.
–
Children at school Year 8 in fluoridated areas had
significantly more caries-free teeth and fewer decayed,
missing or filled teeth than those in non-fluoridated areas.
The full report can be found on the Ministry of Health's website at http://www.moh.govt.nz/moh.nsf/indexmh/an-indication-nz-health-2007
ENDS