Trends in childhood XXXX in Western Australia, 1960-2006.

@entity1 @entity1501 @entity981
Increases in the incidence of childhood @entity981 ( @entity981 ) have been reported in some countries, while other reports from similar geographical regions have indicated stable rates. The reasons for the discrepancies have been debated in the literature, with the focus on whether the observed increases are "real" or an artifact resulting from improvements in diagnosis, case ascertainment and population coverage over time. We used population-based data from Western Australia to investigate trends in the incidence of childhood @entity981 between 1960 and 2006. Age-standardized incidence rates (ASRs) and rate ratios (indicating annual percent change) were estimated using Poisson regression. Between 1960 and 2006, the ASR was 3.7 per 100,000 @entity1 -years, with an annual percent increase of 0.40% (95% CI: -0.20, 1.00). Between 1982 and 2006, the ASR was 3.8, with an annual percent increase of 0.80% (95% CI = -0.70 to 2.30). This increased to 1.42% (95% CI: -0.30, 3.0) when a sensitivity analysis was undertaken to assess the effect of excluding the final 2 years of data. Annual increases of 3.7% (95% CI: -0.50, 8.00) among @entity1 aged 5-14 years, and of 3.10% (95% CI: 0.50, 5.70) in @entity1 , were observed for this latter period. These results were supported by national Australian incidence data available for 1982-2003. There may have been a small increase in the incidence of @entity981 since 1982 among @entity1 and older @entity1 , but an overall increase appears unlikely. No impact of @entity1501 supplementation or fortification is apparent.
