The likely health effects of climate change make it one of the most pressing global public health... more The likely health effects of climate change make it one of the most pressing global public health issues of our time. Effects range from more intense and frequent cyclones, flooding, and heat waves through to changing infectious disease patterns, food and water insecurity, sea-level rise, and economic and social disruption. The governments of almost all developed nations are now focusing their attention on national policy responses to the threat of climate change. In New Zealand, it is currently unclear what path our current government will take to contribute to the global response and fulfil our Kyoto obligations. In this paper we discuss the main carbon pricing options currently under consideration, and their implications for health and health inequities in New Zealand. We summarise the literature about the likely health and equity implications of different kinds of carbon pricing policy. A health sector voice in these significant policy decisions is vital to ensuring a policy tha...
Background and Aims: To estimate the effects on health, air pollution and greenhouse gas emission... more Background and Aims: To estimate the effects on health, air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions if short trips (•7 km) by adults in the New Zealand (NZ) urban setting were undertaken by bicycle ...
New Zealand must commit to substantial decreases in its greenhouse gas emissions, to avoid the wo... more New Zealand must commit to substantial decreases in its greenhouse gas emissions, to avoid the worst impacts of climate change on human health, both here and internationally. We have the fourth highest per capita greenhouse gas emissions in the developed world. Based on the need to limit warming to 2 degrees C by 2100, our cumulative emissions, and our capability to mitigate, New Zealand should at least halve its greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 (i.e. a target of at least 40% less than 1990 levels). This target has a strong scientific basis, and if anything may be too lenient; reducing the risk of catastrophic climate change may require deeper cuts. Short-term economic costs of mitigation have been widely overstated in public debate. They must also be balanced by the far greater costs caused by inertia and the substantial health and social benefits that can be achieved by a low emissions society. Large emissions reductions are achievable if we mobilise New Zealand society and let te...
That men have shorter lives than women is well known. What is less well known is that the differe... more That men have shorter lives than women is well known. What is less well known is that the difference in life expectancy between men and women peaked in the mid-1970s and has since been declining, but only in non-Maori. In this study the specific causes of death that account for this difference in life expectancy are determined. It was found that men die more frequently than women of causes that account for over two-thirds of all deaths. However, official health policy does not appear to consider sex differences in life expectancy to be inequitable and only recently has men's health begun to attract the sort of attention that it is receiving in other developed countries.
BACKGROUND Accurate ethnicity data are a prerequisite for evidence-based cardiovascular risk asse... more BACKGROUND Accurate ethnicity data are a prerequisite for evidence-based cardiovascular risk assessment and management according to national guidelines. AIMS (i) To investigate the accuracy of ethnicity data in primary care medical records by comparing them with self-identified ethnicity. (ii) To determine the clinical impact of ethnicity misclassification on cardiovascular risk assessment and management. METHODS A random sample of 870 patients from 18 general practices (who had ethnicity collected from their medical record as part of cardiovascular risk assessment using PREDICT, a web-based decision support tool) were sent a postal questionnaire asking their self-identified ethnicity using the 2001 Census ethnicity question. RESULTS Data were available for 665 people (77% response rate) who completed the postal questionnaire. Ethnicity in the primary care record and self-identified ethnicity from the questionnaire were identical for 68% of respondents at Statistics New Zealand Leve...
New Zealand must commit to substantial decreases in its greenhouse gas emissions, to avoid the wo... more New Zealand must commit to substantial decreases in its greenhouse gas emissions, to avoid the worst impacts of climate change on human health, both here and internationally. We have the fourth highest per capita greenhouse gas emissions in the developed world. Based on the need to limit warming to 2 degrees C by 2100, our cumulative emissions, and our capability to mitigate, New Zealand should at least halve its greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 (i.e. a target of at least 40% less than 1990 levels). This target has a strong scientific basis, and if anything may be too lenient; reducing the risk of catastrophic climate change may require deeper cuts. Short-term economic costs of mitigation have been widely overstated in public debate. They must also be balanced by the far greater costs caused by inertia and the substantial health and social benefits that can be achieved by a low emissions society. Large emissions reductions are achievable if we mobilise New Zealand society and let te...
Accurate ethnicity data are a prerequisite for evidence-based cardiovascular risk assessment and ... more Accurate ethnicity data are a prerequisite for evidence-based cardiovascular risk assessment and management according to national guidelines. (i) To investigate the accuracy of ethnicity data in primary care medical records by comparing them with self-identified ethnicity. (ii) To determine the clinical impact of ethnicity misclassification on cardiovascular risk assessment and management. A random sample of 870 patients from 18 general practices (who had ethnicity collected from their medical record as part of cardiovascular risk assessment using PREDICT, a web-based decision support tool) were sent a postal questionnaire asking their self-identified ethnicity using the 2001 Census ethnicity question. Data were available for 665 people (77% response rate) who completed the postal questionnaire. Ethnicity in the primary care record and self-identified ethnicity from the questionnaire were identical for 68% of respondents at Statistics New Zealand Level 2 coding. Data concordance var...
The likely health effects of climate change make it one of the most pressing global public health... more The likely health effects of climate change make it one of the most pressing global public health issues of our time. Effects range from more intense and frequent cyclones, flooding, and heat waves through to changing infectious disease patterns, food and water insecurity, sea-level rise, and economic and social disruption. The governments of almost all developed nations are now focusing their attention on national policy responses to the threat of climate change. In New Zealand, it is currently unclear what path our current government will take to contribute to the global response and fulfil our Kyoto obligations. In this paper we discuss the main carbon pricing options currently under consideration, and their implications for health and health inequities in New Zealand. We summarise the literature about the likely health and equity implications of different kinds of carbon pricing policy. A health sector voice in these significant policy decisions is vital to ensuring a policy tha...
Human-induced climate change is now the central health issue facing humanity. The World Medical A... more Human-induced climate change is now the central health issue facing humanity. The World Medical Association recently adopted the Declaration of Delhi, committing the medical profession to mitigate and adapt to the effects of climate change. This is new professional territory for many doctors. Even so, the profession has often engaged with issues outside 'the health sector' when the stakes are high, for example leaded petrol, road safety, tobacco, and nuclear weapons. The scientific basis to the declaration merits scrutiny in light of commonly used contrary arguments. Decisions in medicine, as elsewhere, must be taken on the evidence to hand, weighing up the risks, given that complete knowledge is seldom available and time is precious. There are strong analogies between clinical experience and our approach to planetary climate. The relevant context for scientific observations on climate is the world's multi-gigatonne annual CO2-equivalent greenhouse gas emissions. Emissio...
Adaptation is modification of natural or human systems in response to actual or expected climate ... more Adaptation is modification of natural or human systems in response to actual or expected climate changes and their effects. It may be deliberate, 'planned adaptation', or result from autonomous feedbacks that involve no explicit, human decision-making.1 The importance of ...
Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, 2011
To estimate the effects on health, air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions if short trips (≤7 ... more To estimate the effects on health, air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions if short trips (≤7 km) were undertaken by bicycle rather than motor car. Existing data sources were used to model effects, in the urban setting in New Zealand, of varying the proportion of vehicle kilometres travelled by bicycle instead of light motor vehicle. Shifting 5% of vehicle kilometres to cycling would reduce vehicle travel by approximately 223 million kilometres each year, save about 22 million litres of fuel and reduce transport-related greenhouse emissions by 0.4%. The health effects would include about 116 deaths avoided annually as a result of increased physical activity, six fewer deaths due to local air pollution from vehicle emissions, and an additional five cyclist fatalities from road crashes. In economic terms, including only fatalities and using the NZ Ministry of Transport Value of a Statistical Life, the health effects of a 5% shift represent net savings of about $200 million per year. The health benefits of moving from cars to bikes heavily outweigh the costs of injury from road crashes. Transport policies that encourage bicycle use will help to reduce air pollution and greenhouse emissions and improve public health.
New Zealand must commit to substantial decreases in its greenhouse gas emissions, to avoid the wo... more New Zealand must commit to substantial decreases in its greenhouse gas emissions, to avoid the worst impacts of climate change on human health, both here and internationally. We have the fourth highest per capita greenhouse gas emissions in the developed world. Based on the need to limit warming to 2 degrees C by 2100, our cumulative emissions, and our capability to mitigate, New Zealand should at least halve its greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 (i.e. a target of at least 40% less than 1990 levels). This target has a strong scientific basis, and if anything may be too lenient; reducing the risk of catastrophic climate change may require deeper cuts. Short-term economic costs of mitigation have been widely overstated in public debate. They must also be balanced by the far greater costs caused by inertia and the substantial health and social benefits that can be achieved by a low emissions society. Large emissions reductions are achievable if we mobilise New Zealand society and let te...
The likely health effects of climate change make it one of the most pressing global public health... more The likely health effects of climate change make it one of the most pressing global public health issues of our time. Effects range from more intense and frequent cyclones, flooding, and heat waves through to changing infectious disease patterns, food and water insecurity, sea-level rise, and economic and social disruption. The governments of almost all developed nations are now focusing their attention on national policy responses to the threat of climate change. In New Zealand, it is currently unclear what path our current government will take to contribute to the global response and fulfil our Kyoto obligations. In this paper we discuss the main carbon pricing options currently under consideration, and their implications for health and health inequities in New Zealand. We summarise the literature about the likely health and equity implications of different kinds of carbon pricing policy. A health sector voice in these significant policy decisions is vital to ensuring a policy tha...
Background and Aims: To estimate the effects on health, air pollution and greenhouse gas emission... more Background and Aims: To estimate the effects on health, air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions if short trips (•7 km) by adults in the New Zealand (NZ) urban setting were undertaken by bicycle ...
New Zealand must commit to substantial decreases in its greenhouse gas emissions, to avoid the wo... more New Zealand must commit to substantial decreases in its greenhouse gas emissions, to avoid the worst impacts of climate change on human health, both here and internationally. We have the fourth highest per capita greenhouse gas emissions in the developed world. Based on the need to limit warming to 2 degrees C by 2100, our cumulative emissions, and our capability to mitigate, New Zealand should at least halve its greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 (i.e. a target of at least 40% less than 1990 levels). This target has a strong scientific basis, and if anything may be too lenient; reducing the risk of catastrophic climate change may require deeper cuts. Short-term economic costs of mitigation have been widely overstated in public debate. They must also be balanced by the far greater costs caused by inertia and the substantial health and social benefits that can be achieved by a low emissions society. Large emissions reductions are achievable if we mobilise New Zealand society and let te...
That men have shorter lives than women is well known. What is less well known is that the differe... more That men have shorter lives than women is well known. What is less well known is that the difference in life expectancy between men and women peaked in the mid-1970s and has since been declining, but only in non-Maori. In this study the specific causes of death that account for this difference in life expectancy are determined. It was found that men die more frequently than women of causes that account for over two-thirds of all deaths. However, official health policy does not appear to consider sex differences in life expectancy to be inequitable and only recently has men's health begun to attract the sort of attention that it is receiving in other developed countries.
BACKGROUND Accurate ethnicity data are a prerequisite for evidence-based cardiovascular risk asse... more BACKGROUND Accurate ethnicity data are a prerequisite for evidence-based cardiovascular risk assessment and management according to national guidelines. AIMS (i) To investigate the accuracy of ethnicity data in primary care medical records by comparing them with self-identified ethnicity. (ii) To determine the clinical impact of ethnicity misclassification on cardiovascular risk assessment and management. METHODS A random sample of 870 patients from 18 general practices (who had ethnicity collected from their medical record as part of cardiovascular risk assessment using PREDICT, a web-based decision support tool) were sent a postal questionnaire asking their self-identified ethnicity using the 2001 Census ethnicity question. RESULTS Data were available for 665 people (77% response rate) who completed the postal questionnaire. Ethnicity in the primary care record and self-identified ethnicity from the questionnaire were identical for 68% of respondents at Statistics New Zealand Leve...
New Zealand must commit to substantial decreases in its greenhouse gas emissions, to avoid the wo... more New Zealand must commit to substantial decreases in its greenhouse gas emissions, to avoid the worst impacts of climate change on human health, both here and internationally. We have the fourth highest per capita greenhouse gas emissions in the developed world. Based on the need to limit warming to 2 degrees C by 2100, our cumulative emissions, and our capability to mitigate, New Zealand should at least halve its greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 (i.e. a target of at least 40% less than 1990 levels). This target has a strong scientific basis, and if anything may be too lenient; reducing the risk of catastrophic climate change may require deeper cuts. Short-term economic costs of mitigation have been widely overstated in public debate. They must also be balanced by the far greater costs caused by inertia and the substantial health and social benefits that can be achieved by a low emissions society. Large emissions reductions are achievable if we mobilise New Zealand society and let te...
Accurate ethnicity data are a prerequisite for evidence-based cardiovascular risk assessment and ... more Accurate ethnicity data are a prerequisite for evidence-based cardiovascular risk assessment and management according to national guidelines. (i) To investigate the accuracy of ethnicity data in primary care medical records by comparing them with self-identified ethnicity. (ii) To determine the clinical impact of ethnicity misclassification on cardiovascular risk assessment and management. A random sample of 870 patients from 18 general practices (who had ethnicity collected from their medical record as part of cardiovascular risk assessment using PREDICT, a web-based decision support tool) were sent a postal questionnaire asking their self-identified ethnicity using the 2001 Census ethnicity question. Data were available for 665 people (77% response rate) who completed the postal questionnaire. Ethnicity in the primary care record and self-identified ethnicity from the questionnaire were identical for 68% of respondents at Statistics New Zealand Level 2 coding. Data concordance var...
The likely health effects of climate change make it one of the most pressing global public health... more The likely health effects of climate change make it one of the most pressing global public health issues of our time. Effects range from more intense and frequent cyclones, flooding, and heat waves through to changing infectious disease patterns, food and water insecurity, sea-level rise, and economic and social disruption. The governments of almost all developed nations are now focusing their attention on national policy responses to the threat of climate change. In New Zealand, it is currently unclear what path our current government will take to contribute to the global response and fulfil our Kyoto obligations. In this paper we discuss the main carbon pricing options currently under consideration, and their implications for health and health inequities in New Zealand. We summarise the literature about the likely health and equity implications of different kinds of carbon pricing policy. A health sector voice in these significant policy decisions is vital to ensuring a policy tha...
Human-induced climate change is now the central health issue facing humanity. The World Medical A... more Human-induced climate change is now the central health issue facing humanity. The World Medical Association recently adopted the Declaration of Delhi, committing the medical profession to mitigate and adapt to the effects of climate change. This is new professional territory for many doctors. Even so, the profession has often engaged with issues outside 'the health sector' when the stakes are high, for example leaded petrol, road safety, tobacco, and nuclear weapons. The scientific basis to the declaration merits scrutiny in light of commonly used contrary arguments. Decisions in medicine, as elsewhere, must be taken on the evidence to hand, weighing up the risks, given that complete knowledge is seldom available and time is precious. There are strong analogies between clinical experience and our approach to planetary climate. The relevant context for scientific observations on climate is the world's multi-gigatonne annual CO2-equivalent greenhouse gas emissions. Emissio...
Adaptation is modification of natural or human systems in response to actual or expected climate ... more Adaptation is modification of natural or human systems in response to actual or expected climate changes and their effects. It may be deliberate, 'planned adaptation', or result from autonomous feedbacks that involve no explicit, human decision-making.1 The importance of ...
Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, 2011
To estimate the effects on health, air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions if short trips (≤7 ... more To estimate the effects on health, air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions if short trips (≤7 km) were undertaken by bicycle rather than motor car. Existing data sources were used to model effects, in the urban setting in New Zealand, of varying the proportion of vehicle kilometres travelled by bicycle instead of light motor vehicle. Shifting 5% of vehicle kilometres to cycling would reduce vehicle travel by approximately 223 million kilometres each year, save about 22 million litres of fuel and reduce transport-related greenhouse emissions by 0.4%. The health effects would include about 116 deaths avoided annually as a result of increased physical activity, six fewer deaths due to local air pollution from vehicle emissions, and an additional five cyclist fatalities from road crashes. In economic terms, including only fatalities and using the NZ Ministry of Transport Value of a Statistical Life, the health effects of a 5% shift represent net savings of about $200 million per year. The health benefits of moving from cars to bikes heavily outweigh the costs of injury from road crashes. Transport policies that encourage bicycle use will help to reduce air pollution and greenhouse emissions and improve public health.
New Zealand must commit to substantial decreases in its greenhouse gas emissions, to avoid the wo... more New Zealand must commit to substantial decreases in its greenhouse gas emissions, to avoid the worst impacts of climate change on human health, both here and internationally. We have the fourth highest per capita greenhouse gas emissions in the developed world. Based on the need to limit warming to 2 degrees C by 2100, our cumulative emissions, and our capability to mitigate, New Zealand should at least halve its greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 (i.e. a target of at least 40% less than 1990 levels). This target has a strong scientific basis, and if anything may be too lenient; reducing the risk of catastrophic climate change may require deeper cuts. Short-term economic costs of mitigation have been widely overstated in public debate. They must also be balanced by the far greater costs caused by inertia and the substantial health and social benefits that can be achieved by a low emissions society. Large emissions reductions are achievable if we mobilise New Zealand society and let te...
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Papers by Graeme Lindsay