title: Disability in brisbane caused by chronic disease.
abstract: Chronic diseases and the disabilities which they cause are the most important problem in Public Health. Ischaemic Heart Disease with its clinical manifestations of myocardial infarction and angina pectoris is a prime example of a chronic disease with acute complications which may lead either to death (ischaemic heart disease being the most common cause of death in Australia) or to permanent or semi-permanent invalidism. In the study of the epidemiology of chronic (disease there are certain problems encountered which are not faced in acute disease epidemiology. These include varying criteria for diagnosis (for example, what levels constitute normal blood pressure), the absence of an "incubation period" for the disease - when, for example, does arteriosclerosis begin in an individual - and a dearth of accurate incidence figures because most data on chronic disease are mortality data which, because of under reporting and incorrect diagnosis, may not give a true picture of the fatal effects of chronic disease. Death from cerebrovascular disease accounted for 1254 deaths per 10(6) population in Australia in 1970 yet hypertension only caused 139 deaths per 10(6). It is obvious that many death certificates recording stroke deaths do not mention hypertension which is a common cause of stroke. It can be seen that academic research into chronic disease epidemiology is fraught with many serious difficulties.
authors.affiliation: Reader in Social and Preventive Medicine, University of Queensland; Mater Misericordiae Hospital, Brisbane.
authors.forename: B A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Smithurst