Diabetes, sloth and obesity: IPRM models of population health
by
Mick Roberts
AgResearch, Wallaceville Animal Research Centre, Upper Hutt, New Zealand

Multistate life-tables may be used to describe the age-dependent epidemiology of chronic conditions in a population. The flows between the states are described by systems of differential equations known as IPRM models, because they may be solved to express the incidence of a condition in terms of prevalences, remission rates and relative risks of mortality, all of which may be functions of age and obtained from population surveys. These models may be used to predict the effects of proposed interventions on measures of population health. They have been applied to a range of conditions of importance in New Zealand: diabetes, physical inactivity and obesity; and used to explore the interaction between diabetes and obesity.

Date received: September 18, 2000