Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1697636686967.pdf (Australia)
Submission for Inquiry into Sleep Health Awareness in Australia Darwin -Northern Territory Introduction: The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) suggest that in the Northern Territory (NT) almost one in three people (29.8%) are of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander origin, by far the highest proportion of all states and territories (ABS, 2014).

There is well-documented evidence that Aboriginal people have significantly worse health outcomes than non- Aboriginal people.
The burden of chronic diseases including cardiovascular, hypertension, diabetes, renal and respiratory disorders has contributed to a substantial rise in the morbidity and mortality among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples within the Northern Territory [1-3].
Obesity has also been well recognised as an important pre-requisite risk factor for many of the chronic health conditions and for the development of Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) [4, 5] and it is known to be prevalent among Aboriginal Australians [6, 7].

Co- existence of sleep disorders along with chronic health conditions will likely to give rise to adverse health consequences in Indigenous population.
There is evidence in the literature on the presence and severity of sleep disorders, particularly on OSA in Indigenous people [2, 8- 11].

Diagnosis and management of sleep disorders which, not only may leads to positive health outcomes but also leads to a significant reduction in costs to the health care system at the NT.

We support the state and federal government initiative in the inquiry into sleep disorders in indigenous and non-indigenous population.

Reference: 1.
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Kruavit, A, Fox M, Pearson R, Heraganahally S. Chronic respiratory disease in the regional and remote population of the northern territory top end: A perspective from the specialist respiratory outreach service.

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Schwartz AR, PatilSP,Laffan AM, Polotsky V, Schneider H, Smith PL.
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Cameron AJ, Zimmet PZ, Dunstan DW,Dalton M, Shaw JE, Welborn TA, Owen N, Salmon J, Jolley D. Overweight and obesity in Australia: the 1999–2000 Australian Diabetes, Obesity and Lifestyle Study (AusDiab).

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Inquiry into Sleep Health Awareness in AustraliaSubmission 1 8.

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Heraganahally S, Kruavit A, Mehra S. Does obstructive sleep apnoea exists in indigenous population: a perspective from Australian indigenous population study, Respirology, volume 21, (S3), 2016: doi: 10.1111/resp.12939_14 10.

Subash Heraganahally, Anuk Kruavit.

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Woods CE, McPherson k, Tikoft E, Usher k, Hosseini F, Ferns J, Jersmann H, Antic R, Maguire GP.
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Inquiry into Sleep Health Awareness in AustraliaSubmission 1