MORTALITY TRENDS, 1965 TO 1989, IN BUSSELTON, THE SITE OF REPEATED HEALTH SURVEYS AND INTERVENTIONS

The community of Busselton in Western Australia has participated in re peated cross-sectional health surveys and other health interventions s ince 1966. Health surveys of adults were conducted every three years f rom 1966 to 1981. Health interventions, including programs for high bl ood pressure, smoking, high blood cholesterol levels and obesity, were implemented in the community. Mortality rates for the Busselton area are compared with rates for the remainder of the southwest region of W estern Australia in an attempt to determine if the surveys and associa ted interventions have had any impact on survival. Statistical compari sons via Poisson regression analysis showed that mortality rates for m ales over the period 1965 to 1989 in Busselton declined at a similar r ate to the southwest. However, for females, especially those aged 45 t o 74 years, mortality rates declined significantly faster in Busselton than in the southwest, suggesting a beneficial impact on survival of the surveys and associated interventions.