Phillips, Christine B.Patel, Mahomed S.Cabaron, Yolanda2026-01-042026-01-040168-8227PubMed:8404457ORCID:/0000-0001-5602-3664/work/163629144https://hdl.handle.net/1885/733803628Diabetes is a major public health problem for Aboriginal Australians. We wished to determine the extent and pattern of health service utilisation by Aboriginal people with diabetes in central Australia. Medical records of all Aboriginal people known to have diabetes (n = 374), identified by a previous study, were examined for attendance to health services in central Australia. All had non-insulin-dependent diabetes. Between January 1984 and December 1986, Aboriginal adults with diabetes were admitted to hospital on 694 occasions, accounting for 10.8% of adult Aboriginal admissions. The crude admission rates were 0.78 and 0.84 per diabetes-year for men and women, respectively. The age-adjusted relative risks for admission, compared with Aboriginal non-diabetic patients, were 2.93 (95% C.I., 2.62-3.26) for men and 2.46 (95% C.I., 2.28-2.66) for women. If admission for conditions associated with diabetes are excluded, the admission rates were similar for the two groups. Infection was the most common reason for attendance to a health service, representing 41.7% and 39.8% of male and female admissions, and 21.8% and 26.3% of male and female outpatient attendances. Aboriginal patients with diagnosed diabetes suffer high morbidity and contribute disproportionately to health system costs.We are gratefult o the managemenatn d staff of the Alice Springs Central Australian Aboriginal CongressH, ospital and rural healthc linicsin central Australia. We acknowledget he assistanceo f Jane O’Sullivan and the Medical Records Depart-mentso f Alice SpringsH ospital and Royal Darwin Hospital. Dr David Thomas provided valuables uggestionfso r the manuscriptC. BP was supportedb y a grant from the NH&MRC and by the AMA-AMSA J.G. Hunter Research Fellowship, and worked on the project, in part, towardsa Bachelor of Medical Sciencet hesisa t the Universityo f Melbourne.9enAboriginalDiabetesHealth serviceMorbidityUtilisation199310.1016/0168-8227(93)90083-H0027302834