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Background: Diabetes is a common condition that often requires increasing intensity of glucose lowering regimens. We describe the population trends in the intensity of regimens, and associations of achieved HbA1c and treatment persistence. Methods: We performed an episode-based analysis of the EXTEND-45 dataset, assessing trends in glucose lowering therapy and the associated outcomes of HbA1c and treatment persistence. Trends from 2009 to 2014 were assessed for each intensity level of a glucose lowering therapy regimen, according to the year prescribed. Episodes were defined as the length of time that an individual adhered to a regimen through ongoing prescription, and this was used as to define persistence. Mean HbA1c were calculated for each episode. Persistence and HbA1c were compared across the different regimens of treatment intensity. Results: The intensity of glucose lowering therapy remained stable over time with around one third of episodes utilising a single glucose lowering agent. Mean HbA1c was higher for insulin-based treatment (mean 7.9 % SD = 1.3 %), and lowest for episodes of no glucose lowering treatment (mean 6.3 % (SD = 0.8 %). Around half of participants achieved glycemic targets of 7 %. While there was considerable variation in persistence, the median persistence was around 3 months (94 days, IQR 51–201 days). Conclusions: Therapeutic intensity for diabetes has remained stable over 9 years. Whilst there was considerable variability in persistence with glucose lowering regimens, the mean duration of all regimens was less than a year. Requirement for higher intensity treatment with insulin was related to poorer glycemic control.

Introduction: Caregivers are essential for the health, safety, and independence of many patients and incur financial and personal cost in this role, including increased burden and lower quality of life (QOL) compared to the general population. Extended-hours hemodialysis may be the preference of some patients, but little is known about its effects on caregivers. Methods: Forty caregivers of participants of the ACTIVE Dialysis trial, who were randomized to 12 months extended (median 24 hours/wk) or standard (12 hours/wk) hemodialysis, were included. Utility-based QOL was measured by EuroQOL–5 Dimension–3 Level (EQ-5D-3L) and Short Form–6 Dimensions (SF-6D) and health-related QOL (HRQOL) was measured by the 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) physical component summary (PCS) and mental component summary (MCS) and the Personal Wellbeing Index (PWI) at enrolment and then every 3 months until the end of the study. Results: At baseline, utility-based QOL and HRQOL were similar in both groups. At follow-up, caregivers of people randomized to extended-hours dialysis experienced a greater decrease in utility-based QOL measured by EQ-5D-3L compared with caregivers of people randomized to standard hours (–0.18±0.30 vs. –0.02±0.16, P = 0.04). There were no differences between extended- and standard-hours groups in mean change in SF-6D (0.03±0.12 vs. –0.04±0.1, P = 0.8), PCS (–1.2±9.8 vs. –5.6±9.8, P = 0.2), MCS (–4.1±11.2 vs. –0.5±7.1, P = 0.4), and PWI (2.3±17.6 vs. 0.00±20.4, P = 0.9). Conclusion: Poorer utility-based QOL, as measured by the EQ-5D-3L, was observed in caregivers of patients receiving extended-hours hemodialysis in this small study. Though the findings are exploratory, the possibility that mode of dialysis delivery negatively impacts on caregivers supports the prioritization of research on burden and impact of service delivery in this population.

Abstract Objective: To examine the supply of smoking cessation medicines to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander smokers compared to non‐Indigenous smokers across Australia. Methods: We analysed the total number of smoking cessation prescriptions dispensed over three years through the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) compared to those supplied nationally through the Closing the Gap (CTG) measure and also in the Northern Territory through the Remote Area Aboriginal Health Service (RAAHS) program. Results: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander smokers were supplied with fewer smoking cessation medicines per smoker under the CTG measure compared to non‐Indigenous smokers under general PBS benefits. Supply of medicines though the RAAHS program complicated the use of CTG data where higher proportions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people live in remote areas and use of the CTG measure is lower. Conclusions: Fewer smoking cessation medicines are being prescribed and then dispensed to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander smokers than to non‐Indigenous smokers. Implications for public health: CTG and RAAHS data may be useful to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of interventions to improve the use of smoking cessation medicines by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander smokers. However, there are limitations and current obstacles to accessing RAAHS data would need to be removed.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians (Indigenous Australians) suffer some of the highest rates of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in the world. Among Indigenous Australians in remote areas of the Northern Territory, prevalence rates for renal replacement therapy (RRT) are up to 30 times higher than national prevalence. Anemia among patients with CKD is a common complication. Iron deficiency is one of the major causes. Iron deficiency is also one of the key causes of poor response to the mainstay of anemia therapy with erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs). Therefore, the effective management of anemia in people with CKD is largely dependent on effective identification and correction of iron deficiency. The current identification of iron deficiency in routine clinical practice is dependent on 2 surrogate markers of iron status: serum ferritin concentration and transferrin saturation (TSAT). However, questions exist regarding the use of serum ferritin concentration in people with CKD because it is an acute-phase reactant that can be raised in the context of acute and chronic inflammation. Serum ferritin concentration among Indigenous Australians receiving RRT is often markedly elevated and falls outside reference ranges within most national and international guidelines for iron therapy for people with CKD. This review explores published data on the challenges of managing anemia in Indigenous people with CKD and the need for future research on the efficacy and safety of treatment of anemia of CKD in patients with high ferritin and evidence iron deficiency.

Aims: To use linked routinely-collected health data to estimate diabetes prevalence and incidence in an Australian cohort of adults aged ≥45 years, and examine risk factors associated with incident disease. Research design and methods: The EXamining ouTcomEs in chroNic Disease in the 45 and Up Study (EXTEND45) Study is a linked data study that combines baseline questionnaire responses from the population-based 45 and Up Study (2006–2009, n = 267,153) with multiple routinely-collected health databases up to December 2014. Among participants with ≥1 linked result for any laboratory test, diabetes status was determined from multiple data sources according to standard biochemical criteria, use of glucose-lowering medication or self-report, and the prevalence and incidence rate calculated. Independent risk factors of incident diabetes were examined using multivariable Cox regression. Results: Among 152,169 45 and Up Study participants with ≥1 linked laboratory result in the EXTEND45 database (mean age 63.0 years; 54.9% female), diabetes prevalence was 10.8% (95% confidence interval [CI] 10.6%–10.9%). Incident disease in those without diabetes at baseline (n = 135,810; mean age 62.5 years; 56.1% female) was 10.0 per 1,000 person-years (95% CI 9.8–10.2). In all age groups, diabetes incidence was lower in women compared to men, an association that persisted in the fully adjusted analyses. Other independent risk factors of diabetes were older age, being born outside of Australia (with the highest rate of 19.2 per 1,000 person-years observed in people born in South and Central Asia), lower education status, lower annual household income, residence in a major city, family history of diabetes, personal history of cardiovascular disease or hypertension, higher body mass index, smoking and long sleeping hours. Conclusions: Our study represents an efficient approach to assessing diabetes frequency and its risk factors in the community. The infrastructure provided by the EXTEND45 Study will be useful for diabetes surveillance and examining other important clinical and epidemiological questions.

Introduction: The impact of chronic kidney disease (CKD) on income is unclear. We sought to determine whether CKD severity, serious adverse events, and CKD progression affected household income. Methods: Analyses were undertaken in a prospective cohort of adults with moderate-to-severe CKD in the Study of Heart and Renal Protection (SHARP), with household income information available at baseline screening and study end. Logistic regressions, adjusted for sociodemographic characteristics, smoking, and prior diseases at baseline, estimated associations during the 5-year follow-up, among (i) baseline CKD severity, (ii) incident nonfatal serious adverse events (vascular or cancer), and (iii) CKD treatment modality (predialysis, dialysis, or transplanted) at study end and the outcome “fall into relative poverty.” This was defined as household income

Abstract Objective: Given the high prevalence of chronic disease, it is of concern that access to and sustained engagement with primary healthcare services by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians is often far lower than would be expected. This study sought to explore ways in which relationships can support sustained engagement with healthcare services. Methods: Semi‐structured interviews were conducted with 126 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander participants with and without chronic disease and 97 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non‐Indigenous healthcare providers, healthcare service managers or administrative staff. Results: Our findings indicate that when faced with acute health issues, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander participants did prioritise care, provided that the service was both physically and emotionally welcoming. Trustworthiness of healthcare providers and strong relationships with patients were the most important factors for encouraging sustained engagement overtime. Conclusions: Responsibility for sustaining relationships does not rest solely with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients. Rather, healthcare providers need to commit to the process of building and maintaining relationships. Implications: First and foremost healthcare providers should take time to establish and then maintain relationships. Healthcare services can also contribute by ensuring facilities are welcoming for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Abstract Objectives:To assess concordance in reporting, in two Australian national datasets, of cause of death of patients with end‐stage renal disease (ESRD). Methods:For deaths in 1997–99, we compared ‘cause of death’ and ‘primary renal disease’, as coded in the Australian and New Zealand Dialysis and Transplant Registry (ANZDATA), with ‘underlying’ and ‘associated’ causes of death (based on death certificates), as coded by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). Dates of birth and death and sex identified the same individuals in the two datasets. Deaths from the three States for which date of birth was not available from death certificates were excluded. Cause of death was compared at the ICD‐10 chapter level. Results:Of 1,728 ANZDATA patients from NSW, SA, WA, NT and ACT who died during 1997–99, 1,117 (65%) could be matched to a record in the ABS dataset for the corresponding jurisdictions. The death certificates of 219 (20%) of these 1,117 patients made no mention of chronic renal failure. Overall, agreement on cause of death was poor (kappa=0.22). Using ANZDATA information on cause of death and ABS underlying cause of death, only 38% of patients had the same cause (at the ICD‐10 chapter level) recorded in both datasets. Additional information on primary renal disease (ANZDATA) and up to 12 associated causes of death (ABS) was required to obtain substantial agreement. Conclusion and implications:Death certificates and ANZDATA records provide differing causes of death for ESRD patients. Information from these sources was not directly comparable. Neither dataset provided a complete picture of renal disease as a cause of death in Australia.