Cardiovascular risk among Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal smoking male prisoners: Inequalities compared to the wider community

Background: Cardiovascular risk factors (CVRF) were collected as part of a randomised controlled trial of a multi-component intervention to reduce smoking among male prisoners. Cross-sectional baseline data on CVRF were compared among smoking male prisoners and males of similar age in the general po...

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Main Authors: Richmond, R., Wilhelm, K., Indig, D., Butler, Tony, Archer, V., Wodak, A.
Format: Journal Article
Published: 2011
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/38606
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author Richmond, R.
Wilhelm, K.
Indig, D.
Butler, Tony
Archer, V.
Wodak, A.
author_facet Richmond, R.
Wilhelm, K.
Indig, D.
Butler, Tony
Archer, V.
Wodak, A.
author_sort Richmond, R.
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Background: Cardiovascular risk factors (CVRF) were collected as part of a randomised controlled trial of a multi-component intervention to reduce smoking among male prisoners. Cross-sectional baseline data on CVRF were compared among smoking male prisoners and males of similar age in the general population. Methods. 425 smoking prisoners were recruited (n = 407 in New South Wales; 18 in Queensland), including 15% of Aboriginal descent (mean age 33 years; median sentence length 3.6 years). We measured CVRF such as smoking, physical activity, blood pressure, risky alcohol use, symptoms of depression, and low socioeconomic status. Results: We found that 39% of prisoners had 3+ CVRF, compared to 10% in a general community sample of most disadvantaged men of a similar age. Significantly more Aboriginal prisoners had 3+ CVRF than non-Aboriginal prisoners (55% vs 36%, p < 0.01) and were twice as likely to have 4+ CVRF (27% vs 12%). In addition to all prisoners in this study being a current smoker (with 70% smoking 20+ cigarettes per day), the prevalence of other CVRF was very high: insufficient physical activity (23%); hypertension (4%), risky drinking (52%), symptoms of depression (14%) and low socioeconomic status (SES) (44%). Aboriginal prisoners had higher levels of risky alcohol use, symptoms of depression, and were more likely to be of low SES. Conclusion: Prisoners are at high risk for developing cardiovascular disease compared to even the most disadvantaged in their community and should be the focus of specific public health interventions. Trial Registration. This trial is registered with the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ACTRN#12606000229572. © 2011 Richmond et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-386062017-09-13T14:16:25Z Cardiovascular risk among Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal smoking male prisoners: Inequalities compared to the wider community Richmond, R. Wilhelm, K. Indig, D. Butler, Tony Archer, V. Wodak, A. Background: Cardiovascular risk factors (CVRF) were collected as part of a randomised controlled trial of a multi-component intervention to reduce smoking among male prisoners. Cross-sectional baseline data on CVRF were compared among smoking male prisoners and males of similar age in the general population. Methods. 425 smoking prisoners were recruited (n = 407 in New South Wales; 18 in Queensland), including 15% of Aboriginal descent (mean age 33 years; median sentence length 3.6 years). We measured CVRF such as smoking, physical activity, blood pressure, risky alcohol use, symptoms of depression, and low socioeconomic status. Results: We found that 39% of prisoners had 3+ CVRF, compared to 10% in a general community sample of most disadvantaged men of a similar age. Significantly more Aboriginal prisoners had 3+ CVRF than non-Aboriginal prisoners (55% vs 36%, p < 0.01) and were twice as likely to have 4+ CVRF (27% vs 12%). In addition to all prisoners in this study being a current smoker (with 70% smoking 20+ cigarettes per day), the prevalence of other CVRF was very high: insufficient physical activity (23%); hypertension (4%), risky drinking (52%), symptoms of depression (14%) and low socioeconomic status (SES) (44%). Aboriginal prisoners had higher levels of risky alcohol use, symptoms of depression, and were more likely to be of low SES. Conclusion: Prisoners are at high risk for developing cardiovascular disease compared to even the most disadvantaged in their community and should be the focus of specific public health interventions. Trial Registration. This trial is registered with the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ACTRN#12606000229572. © 2011 Richmond et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 2011 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/38606 10.1186/1471-2458-11-783 unknown
spellingShingle Richmond, R.
Wilhelm, K.
Indig, D.
Butler, Tony
Archer, V.
Wodak, A.
Cardiovascular risk among Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal smoking male prisoners: Inequalities compared to the wider community
title Cardiovascular risk among Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal smoking male prisoners: Inequalities compared to the wider community
title_full Cardiovascular risk among Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal smoking male prisoners: Inequalities compared to the wider community
title_fullStr Cardiovascular risk among Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal smoking male prisoners: Inequalities compared to the wider community
title_full_unstemmed Cardiovascular risk among Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal smoking male prisoners: Inequalities compared to the wider community
title_short Cardiovascular risk among Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal smoking male prisoners: Inequalities compared to the wider community
title_sort cardiovascular risk among aboriginal and non-aboriginal smoking male prisoners: inequalities compared to the wider community
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/38606