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DOC COUV XPRESS 07/31/03 4:01 PM Page 1 IMPO X4 LIFESTYLE #1 07/28/03 11:02 AM Page 1 Secretariat of the Pacific Community LIFESTYLE DISEASES IN PACIFIC COMMUNITIES by Terry Coyne edited by Robert Hughes and Sarah Langi i IMPO X4 LIFESTYLE #1 07/28/03 11:02 AM Page 2 © Secretariat of the Pacific Community, 2000 All rights for commercial / for profit reproduction or translation, in any form, reserved. The SPC authorises the partial reproduction or translation of this material for scientific, educational or research purposes, provided that the SPC and the source document are properly acknowledged. Permission to reproduce the document and / or translate in whole, in any form, whether for commercial / for profit or non-profit purposes, must be requested in writing. Original SPC artwork may not be altered or separately published without permission. Original edition: English Secretariat of the Pacific Community cataloguing-in-publication Coyne,Terry, Lifestyle diseases in Pacific communities / author:Terry Coyne, editors: Robert Hughes and Sarah Langi. (Technical paper / Secretariat of the Pacific Community; no. 219) 1. Public health--Oceania--Bibliography. 2. Diet--Oceania. 3. Cardiovascular system--Diseases--Oceania. 4. Diabetes--Oceania. 5. Cancer--Oceania. 6. Obesity--Oceania I. Coyne,Terry II. Hughes, Robert III. Langi, Sarah IV.Secretariat of the Pacific Community V. Title VI. Series 616.9800990 ISBN 982-203-793-7 AACR2 ISSN 0081-2862 Author 1. Terry Coyne, NCD Project Officer, Secretariat of the Pacific Community, BP D5, 98848 Noumea Cedex, New Caledonia Editors 1. Robert Hughes, Nutritionist/NCD Epidemiologist, Secretariat of the Pacific Community, BP D5, 98848 Noumea Cedex, New Caledonia 2. Sarah Langi, English Editor, Secretariat of the Pacific Community, BP D5, 98848 Noumea Cedex, New Caledonia Funded by AusAID Prepared and published at SPC headquarters, Noumea, New Caledonia Design and layout by JBM, Noumea, New Caledonia Printed by Multipress, Noumea, New Caledonia ii IMPO X4 LIFESTYLE #1 07/28/03 11:02 AM Page 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements v Preface vii CHAPTER 1: Introduction 1 Summary 1 Historical Background 2 Mortality Attributable to Non-communicable Diseases 6 Cardiovascular Disease and Risk Factors 11 CHAPTER 2: Dietary Change in the Pacific 13 Summary 13 Traditional Dietary Patterns 13 Melanesia 19 Micronesia 33 Polynesia 39 Discussion 49 Conclusions 52 CHAPTER 3: Hypertension 53 Summary 53 Definition 53 Melanesia 56 Micronesia 70 Polynesia 76 Discussion 90 Factors Associated with Hypertension 92 Conclusions 98 CHAPTER 4: Coronary Heart Disease 99 Summary 99 Definition 100 Melanesia 102 Micronesia 111 Polynesia 113 Factors that Influence Blood Lipid Levels 124 Conclusions 127 CHAPTER 5: Diabetes Mellitus 129 Summary 129 Diagnosis and Classification of Diabetes Mellitus 131 Melanesia 133 Micronesia 145 Polynesia 151 Complications of Diabetes 157 Discussion 162 Conclusions 170 iii IMPO X4 LIFESTYLE #1 07/28/03 11:02 AM Page 4 CHAPTER 6: Obesity 171 Summary 171 Assessment of Obesity 173 Melanesia 175 Micronesia 192 Polynesia 200 Discussion 219 Conclusions 224 CHAPTER 7: Cancer 225 Summary 225 Mortality due to Cancer 226 Melanesia 228 Micronesia 239 Polynesia 244 Risk Factors Related to Cancer 251 Conclusions 258 CHAPTER 8: Concluding Remarks 261 Gaps in Existing Knowledge 262 Relationship between Risk Factors and Disease 263 All that is Healthy 265 References 267 Appendices 293 Appendix 1: Hypertension 294 Appendix 2: Blood Lipids 308 Appendix 3: Diabetes 312 Appendix 4: Obesity 317 Abbreviations 331 iv IMPO X4 LIFESTYLE #1 07/28/03 11:02 AM Page 5 Acknowledgements The author and editors are sincerely grateful to a number of people for their assistance, expertise and support in the preparation of this report. Expert reviewers offered comments and suggestions on critical sections of the report. Professor Paul Zimmet reviewed the diabetes section, Dr Boyd Swinburn edited the obesity section, Dr Steven McGarvey offered suggestions on the hypertension chapter and Dr Richard Taylor and Dr Graham Stevens provided insightful comments on the cancer section.Virginie Vernay compiled much of the dietary change section. Sophia Dunn volunteered her time to help with the reference section; Jimaima Schultz and Maricel Balajadia were careful and helpful proof readers. Celine Hinohalagahu,Annick Gerard and Christine Lemesle offered much assistance in word processing and compiling the reference database.Many thanks to Marie-Ange Roberts for her expertise in re-formating all the figures. Special thanks must go to the SPC Publications team, who work under a great deal of stress at the best of times but rarely leave a “t”uncrossed or an “i”not dotted. v IMPO X4 LIFESTYLE #1 07/28/03 11:02 AM Page 6 IMPO X4 LIFESTYLE #1 07/28/03 11:02 AM Page 7 Preface This publication,Lifestyle diseases in Pacific communities, is an up-date of the 1984 SPC publi- cation, The effect of urbanisation and western diet on the health of Pacific island populations. The first report was produced in response to a number of medical surveys undertaken during the 1960s and 1970s that revealed an alarming prevalence of diabetes mellitus and other metabolic disorders in Pacific Island communities. It came to fruition through recommendations made at the Seventh South Pacific Commission Conference on Health Services held in Port Vila, Vanuatu in 1976 and a joint SPC/WHO Meeting on Metabolic Disorders held in Nauru in 1978 (1).Work commenced on the document in 1981 with the following objective: “To bring about improved food utilisation practices and better nutrition by helping com- munities to be aware of the changes taking place and their consequences and then pro- vide them with the knowledge needed to seek solutions for themselves.” The report was circulated among SPC member countries and territories and served as a wor- king document for a regional meeting on the effects of urbanisation and western diets on the health of Pacific Island populations held in Suva, Fiji, 7–16 December 1981 (2). The purpose was to assist Pacific Island governments to formulate food and nutrition policies to improve the wellbeing of Pacific Island people. Nearly 20 years on and at the dawn of a new millennium, this second report is the culmination of more than one year’s work by the same author of the first report, Dr Terry Coyne. The focus has shifted slightly and now is concentrated more on non-communicable disease (NCD). However, the aim remains remarkably similar: To continually assess the contribution NCD makes to ill-health and early death of Pacific Island people and to enable Pacific Island countries and territories to develop and imple- ment country strategies on NCD prevention and control. What this report does reveal is that health outcomes in terms of non-communicable diseases are far worse now than ever before. In many places throughout the region non-communicable disease rates are much higher than in the early 1980s. This does not mean to say that the NCD prevention efforts of health workers in the region have not been successful. The rate of increase could be far higher without their dedication and persistence. Stemming the tide of the current NCD epidemic will require total commitment from country and community leaders along with the public will to change. Health workers can then facilitate the process. Robert Hughes, November 1999 vii IMPO X4 LIFESTYLE #1 07/28/03 11:02 AM Page 8 IMPO X4 LIFESTYLE #1 07/28/03 11:02 AM Page 9 CHAPTER 1: Introduction The countries and territories of the Pacific Islands are greatly diverse in terms of geographic and population size, climate and ethnic composition as well as in social, economic and cultural aspects. Today,however,all Pacific Island countries and territories (PICTs) share a common concern about emer- ging non-communicable diseases, namely cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancer. Rapid economic growth is accompanied by a transition to a more western lifestyle. In parallel are rapid changes in the health profile, with the increasing burden of non-communicable diseases (NCD). This burden is experienced in terms of premature mortality, morbidity and disability and poses major, but unquantifiable, social, personal and economic costs on all societies in the region. No country……can afford the existing and the projected increased burden of CVD [cardiovascular disease] and diabetes. (3) Summary ● Pacific Island adults living according to their traditions were generally robust, physically fit, active and relatively free of nutritional deficiencies or disorders. Their very isolation and remoteness served to protect them from the diseases of the rest of the world. ● Early western contact brought epidemics of infectious diseases that rank among the worst in the world in terms of proportions of attributable deaths. ● The prevalence of chronic degenerative diseases such as diabetes,hypertension,ischaemic heart disea- se and cancer was low among peoples living a traditional life style. ● Today in several Pacific Island groups,prevalence rates of diabetes are some of the highest in the world – 30% – which is nine to ten times higher than rates in affluent western countries such as the USA and Australia. ● Rates of hypertension in at least seven PICTs exceed rates in western countries. ● Heart disease or circulatory diseases are the leading causes of mortality in the majority of PICTs. ● The incidence rates of cancer are lower than in industrialised countries,but are increasing rapidly,par- ticularly of cancers of the cervix, breast, lung and prostate. ● Obesity rates are among the highest in the world with 75% of adults in seven PICTs classified as either overweight or obese. ● The major risk factors associated with these non-communicable or lifestyle diseases are preventable and include obesity, poor diet, lack of physical exercise and tobacco use. ● All of these risk factors have been increasing in the majority of PICTs, more so in the more economi- cally advanced countries and more so in urbanised communities.