What is a National Health Priority Area?  National Health Priority Areas (NHPAs) are diseases and conditions chosen for focused attention at a national level because of their significant contribution to the burden of illness and injury in the Australian community.  The seven NHPAs identified for particular attention are:  Arthritis and musculoskeletal conditions  Asthma  Cancer control  Cardiovascular health  Diabetes mellitus  Injury prevention and control  Mental health.

What is the National Health Priority Areas initiative?  The NHPA initiative, established in 1996, is a program emphasising collaborative action between Commonwealth and State and Territory government, non-government organisations, health experts, clinicians and consumers, for specific diseases and conditions. The initiative recognises that the strategies for reducing the burden of illness should be pluralistic, encompassing the continuum of care from prevention through to treatment, management and maintenance, and based on appropriate research and data sources.

 By targeting specific areas that impose high social and financial costs on Australian society, collaborative action can achieve significant and cost-effective advances in improving the health status of Australians. The diseases and conditions targeted under the NHPA initiative were chosen because through appropriate and focused attention significant gains in the health of Australias population can be achieved.

Risk factors NHPA disease or condition smokingPhysical inactivity Poor diet & nutrition Excess body weight High blood pressure High cholesterol Type 2 Diabetes XXX AsthmaX Coronary heart disease XXXXXX StrokeXXXXXX Lung cancerX Colorectal cancer XXX OsteoarthritisXXX osteoporosisXX

Tobacco smoking  Of all the health risk factors, smoking is responsible for the greatest burden of disease in Australia, around 12% of the total burden of disease in males and 7% in females in  Cigarettes and other tobacco products contain carcinogens (cancer-causing agents), nicotine (an addictive agent) and numerous other poisonous substances. People who use tobacco have an increased risk of developing coronary heart disease, stroke, heart failure, peripheral vascular disease, lung cancer, cervical cancer and osteoporosis. These risks increase with the number of cigarettes smoked daily, with the number of years of smoking, and especially when the habit is started at an early age.  Tobacco smoke affects not only the individual user, but also others who may be exposed to it. Environmental tobacco smoke has been shown to be associated particularly with the exacerbation of childhood respiratory diseases such as asthma.

Poor diet and nutrition  Poor diets often result from over-consumption of food in general, or diets high in energy-rich components such as fat. A poor diet may also be low in dietary fibres or complex carbohydrates, and deficient in certain vitamins and minerals. This contributes to coronary heart disease, stroke, Type 2 diabetes and some forms of cancer such as colorectal cancer and post-menopausal breast cancer.  Poor diet and nutrition also contributes to a variety of other health risk factors such as high blood pressure, excess weight and high blood cholesterol.

Excess body weight  Excess body weight has been clearly linked with increased risk of mortality and morbidity from heart and vascular diseases, such as coronary heart disease, stroke, heart failure and peripheral vascular disease. There is also substantial evidence for a causal relationship between excess body weight and increased risk for a number of NHPA diseases such as Type 2 diabetes, gestational diabetes and some cancers such as colorectal cancer, prostate cancer and post-menopausal breast cancer.  The risk of developing more than one NHPA disease or condition also increases with increasing levels of excess weight. Overweight was estimated to account for 4.3% of the total burden of disease in Australia in 1996

High blood pressure  High blood pressure is a major risk factor for a range of cardiovascular diseases. The risk of disease increases as the level of blood pressure increases. It can be controlled via changes in nutrition, weight, physical activity and medication. The burden of disease in Australia that can be attributed to high blood pressure was estimated to be more than 5% of the total burden in DALY terms among Australians in 1996.

High blood cholesterol  High blood cholesterol (hypercholesterolemia) means there is too much cholesterol (a fat-like substance) in the blood. This leads to the build up of cholesterol, on the walls of the arteries of the heart and other parts of the body, in a process called atherosclerosis, resulting in the arteries becoming clogged and having decreased or inhibited blood flow.  High blood cholesterol is a major risk factor for coronary heart disease, the single greatest cause of death and disability in Australia. It is also associated with an increased risk of ischaemic stroke, heart failure and peripheral vascular disease. For most people, a diet high in saturated fat is the main factor that raises blood cholesterol levels. High blood cholesterol accounted for almost 3% of the total burden of disease of Australians in 1996.