Report reveals health of region

THE 2018 Health of Queenslanders Report has shown more than 12,000 Darling Downs hospitalisations were potentially preventable in the past two years.

OUR HEALTH: Carling Downs Public Health Unit Director Dr Penny Hutchinson with the report. Picture: Contributed

THE release of the 2018 Health of Queenslanders Report has shown more than 12,000 Darling Downs hospitalisations were potentially preventable in the past two years.

The biennial report is compiled by the Queensland Health Chief Health Officer provides a snapshot of Queenslanders' health, as well as specifically within the Darling Downs Health area.

The report reveals key areas of concern in the Darling Downs, including obesity, lack of physical activity and smoking rates.

Darling Downs Public Health Unit Director Dr Penny Hutchinson said the report showed about 30 per cent of adults (about 64,000 people) were obese in the region, which is 20 per cent higher than the state average.

"It's a bit of a double whammy as 14 per cent of adults - or 30,000 people - are physically inactive, which is 45 per cent higher here than across the state,” she said.

Meanwhile, about half (48 per cent) of Darling Downs children are active every day.

But Dr Hutchinson said statistics on children's nutrition levels were "alarming” with more than half of children across Darling Downs Health consuming salty or sweet snacks or confectionery every day.

"While this is close to the state average, it is a still an area of great concern as unhealthy eating habits when people are young are often carried into adulthood.”

And one of the impacts of those eating habits can be dental issues.

Across Queensland, there have been 4146 hospital admissions for tooth decay among 0-9 year-olds and, in the Darling Downs, a staggering 48 per cent of five to six-year-olds have tooth decay.

That's 11 per cent higher than the state average.

Dental conditions are also one of the leading causes of preventable hospital admissions in the Darling Downs.

And smoking also plays a role.

The report showed smoking rates were higher than the state average with one in eight adults (12 per cent) lighting up daily.

"This is 5 per cent higher than the state average with 26,000 adults smoking each day, with 16 per cent of women smoking while pregnant,” Dr Hutchinson said.

"Darling Downs Health has a Smoke-Free Healthcare Committee which has co-ordinated a strategic approach to promoting and supporting smoking cessation across the health service.

"We also have a targeted program to reduce Indigenous smoking rates including women while they are pregnant.”

Dr Hutchinson said Darling Downs Health also had an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Action Plan which set out goals to address the disparity in health outcomes for indigenous people.

There was some good news from the report, which showed a strong immunisation rate for the region's five-year-olds at 96 per cent.

"This is an important achievement as the immunisation rate at this level provides what we call herd immunity, providing the best protection against many vaccine-preventable diseases for the whole community.

"It is important that parents remain diligent in having their children immunised to protect them against life-threatening diseases such as whooping cough, meningococcal disease and measles.”