New Publications

The Nutrition Resources Guidebook 1995: Your Essential Guide to Canadian Resources (NRG95) highlights the work of Canadian and American nutritionists and dietitians in 200 pages organized into 50 topics in the areas of food and nutrition. Each of these topics is covered in abstracts, reviews and references, and then further divided into resources for the public and resources for health professionals and educators. Ordering information for print, audio and video resources includes phone and fax numbers as well as addresses and prices. NRG95 is an invaluable resource for community nutritionists who can see what has been produced elsewhere in North America.

All proceeds from NRG95 sales go to the Dial-A-Dietitian Nutrition Information society of B.C., a not-for-profit organization providing free information on food and nutrition to the public, food and health professionals, educators and communicators. Dial-A-Dietitian intends to publish the Nutrition Resources Guidebook biannually, and the next fully changed edition will appear in 1997.

To order
Send cheque or money order for $29.95 (includes all taxes and shipping costs) payable to:

Dial-A-Dietitian
1060 West 8th Avenue, 2nd Floor
Vancouver, BC V6H 1C4
Tel: (604) 732-9191
Toll-free in BC: (800) 667-3438

Community Health Indicators-Definitions and Interpretations is designed for anyone with an interest in the indicators of community health, regardless of familiarity with the subject or the use for which the data are intended. It has been designed to provide both theoretical and functional information on a broad range of population health indicators available on the Canadian, provincial and intraprovincial scale.

This document consists of two major sections. The first, primarily theoretical, includes two chapters, one dealing with the conceptual and operational aspects of the indicators, the other explaining the indicator classification model and selection process.

The second section consists of 60 summary charts of health indicators. Each indicator is presented on two adjacent pages, on which the reader can find all of the information relating to each indicator at a glance. Each chart includes a complete definition of the indicator, possible interpretations and limitations. The sources required for calculation of the indicator and the method of calculation are also presented in the chart. In addition, it contains suggested categories, the most recent values available for Canada and Quebec and the most recent literature on the indicator. At the end of the document, there is an index and an instrument panel showing recent Quebec and Canadian values for each of the indicators selected.

To order
Available free of charge at the following address:
Canadian Institute for Health Information
377 Dalhousie Street, Suite 200
Ottawa, Ontario K1N 9N8
Tel: (613) 241-7860
Fax: (613) 241-8120

This report presents comprehensive recommendations, developed in consultation with more than 100 experts, for the appropriate use and interpretation of anthropometry as a method with great potential to guide clinical decisions and public health policy. As the single most universally applicable, inexpensive, and non-invasive method available to assess the size, proportions and composition of the human body, anthropometry reflects both health and nutritional status and predicts performance, health and survival.

The report aims to give scientists, clinicians and public health professionals a framework and context for the present and future uses and interpretation of anthropometry. Public health and clinical applications in all age groups- from infancy, through adolescence, to old age-are discussed and substantiated by more than 400 references to the literature.

For some groups, such as adolescents and the elderly, where previous research has been limited, the report provides a basis and impetus for future studies. For other age groups, such as infants and children, the report re-evaluates currently used reference data in the light of new knowledge and recommends important changes. Throughout, an effort is made to relate specific anthropometric indicators to the actions that can be taken on behalf of individuals or populations in a range of different settings.

The report has nine chapters. The first explains how the principles of applied biostatistics and epidemiology contribute to the technical basis underlying the various uses of anthropometric indicators. Subsequent chapters, which constitute the core of the report, provide a detailed guide to the use and interpretation of anthropometric measures in pregnant and lactating women, the newborn infant, infants and children, adolescents, overweight adults, thin adults, and adults 60 years of age and older.

Each chapter follows a common framework, including information on the significance of anthropometry as an indicator, followed by an assessment of the specific applications of anthropometry, in individuals and populations, for screening, targeting of interventions and assessing the response to an intervention. Each chapter also includes detailed advice on data management and analysis,methods of taking measures and the adequacy of existing reference data.

In a key achievement, the report sets out an extensive series of tabular reference data, recommended by the Expert Committee, that have not been widely distributed by WHO previously. Succinct summaries of recommendations for the use of anthropometry, in individuals and populations and for different age groups, are also provided.

This book provides a state-of-the-art review of current knowledge about the epidemiology of schizophrenia. Emphasis is placed on studies that shed light on the etiology of this severe disorder and the social and biological factors that influence its onset. Epidemiologic data gathered in developing countries are included in the review. Addressed to researchers and clinicians, the book aims to separate areas of consensus from areas of continuing controversy, to identify gaps in knowledge and to point out the most fruitful lines for further investigation. Close to 500 published studies were critically assessed.

The book has four main chapters. The first discusses a number of diagnostic issues of critical importance to the interpretation of epidemiologic research. A brief account of the historical evolution of diagnostic concepts and classifications, including modifications in ICD-10, reveals several major differences in diagnostic criteria and assessment instruments that help explain the variations in prevalence observed across countries and cultures.

The second, most extensive chapter reviews knowledge about the epidemiology of schizophrenia, drawing upon the results of incidence and prevalence studies conducted in the general population, primary care settings, psychiatric settings and special population groups. In reviewing these studies, the authors make a special effort to determine whether observed inter-country differences in the incidence, prevalence and symptom profiles of schizophrenia are valid, or whether these reflect different diagnostic practices. Risk factors considered include season of birth, socio-economic class, urban residence, marital status, stress and migration. The authors also review the results of epidemiologic research on the etiology of schizophrenia, noting that links are being forged between inheritance patterns, neurophysiological and anatomical abnormalities, environmental stress, and the symptoms of schizophrenia.

Temporal trends are assessed in the third chapter, which addresses the controversial questions of whether schizophrenia was rare before the 18th century, and whether the incidence is now declining. The final chapter sets out a number of conclusions and precise recommendations for further research aimed at a better identification of risk factors and earlier detection of the onset of schizophrenia. Annexed to the book are the ICD-10 clinical descriptions and diagnostic guidelines for schizophrenia and the ICD-10 diagnostic criteria for research.

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