Background: Maori have a higher incidence and mortality from coronary heart disease (CHD) than the wider population in New Zealand. We wished to examine this in detail using existing health information compiled for the years 2000–2002.

Background: Maori appear to have a higher incidence and mortality from coronary heart disease (CHD) than the wider population in New Zealand. We wished to examine this in detail using existing health information compiled for the years 2000–2002.

Background: A recent increase in the absolute number of hospitalisations for acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in New Zealand may signal a new epidemic of coronary heart disease (CHD).Objective: To quantify the impact of factors other than incidence of disease on these national hospitalisation trends.Methods: A total of 324 663 electronic records of New Zealand public CHD hospitalisations from 1993 to 2005 were examined. Repeat admissions were identified by record linkage using a unique national health identifier for each patient.Results: Hospitalisations for AMI increased by about 8% a year throughout the 13-year study period. Interhospital transfers increased by 117% over the study period, while readmissions increased by 42%. By 2005 over 60% of all admissions for CHD were readmissions. After accounting for readmissions, hospital transfers and population changes, the age-standardised first AMI hospitalisation rate peaked in 1995 and has since declined by 15%. Reciprocal trends in AMI and angina hospitalisations were seen, indicating changing diagnostic criteria. Overall hospitalisation rates for first CHD events remained relatively steady at about 216.4 events per 100 000 between 1993 and 2000 and subsequently declined by 25% to 162.2 events per 100 000 in 2005.Conclusion: Recent trends in hospitalisation rates for AMI are significantly influenced by factors other than underlying changes in CHD incidence. Increasing absolute numbers of admissions coded as AMI in New Zealand between 1993 and 2005 can be accounted for by increases in readmissions, increases in interhospital transfers, changes in diagnostic criteria for AMI and in demography.

ALOS, an enhanced successor of the Japanese Earth Resources Satellite 1 (JERS-1), was launched from JAXA's Tanegashima Space Center in January 2006. An important contribution to the ALOS mission is the verification of PALSAR products to be distributed by the European ADEN node using the PALSAR processor developed by JAXA. A total of 28 ALOS PALSAR products have been analysed with respect to radiometric, geometric and polarimetric quality (including effects of Faraday rotation caused by the ionosphere) and a summary of the results is shown in this paper.

Background: It has been suggested that recent increases in hospitalisations for coronary heart disease (CHD), particularly acute myocardial infarction (AMI), in New Zealand may signal a new epidemic of CHD. This study investigated alternative explanations for these trends, including changing demographics, hospital transfers, readmissions and changes in diagnostic criteria for AMI.