The Victorian Health Monitor (VHM) was a Victorian statewide cross-sectional, population-health measurement survey conducted from May 2009 to June 2010.
The survey measured the prevalence of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, kidney disease and hypertension, and their risk factors in a representative sample of adults aged 18–75 years from Victoria.
The specific objectives of the study were to:
• estimate the prevalence of the following conditions in the Victorian metropolitan and rural population:
- diabetes and other forms of abnormal glucose tolerance
- cardiovascular disease
- kidney disease
- cardiovascular disease risk factors, including obesity, hypertension and lipid profile abnormalities
• assess the distribution and relationships of the cardiovascular disease risk factors indicated above
• assess the associations of the social determinants of health with risk factors and the chronic diseases included in the survey
• inform policy development and contribute to overall program planning for chronic disease prevention activities in Victoria
• inform nutrition policy at the state level and contribute to the evidence base on healthy eating.
The sample selection was based on a stratified cluster sample of Census Collection Districs (CDs) within the eight Department of Health regions in Victoria. There were 50 randomly selected CDs included in the survey, 25 from the metropolitan area and 25 from rural Victoria. Every private
household within these 50 CDs was approached and one eligible person from each household was invited to participate in the survey. Survey activities included attendance at a local testing site where participants provided a blood sample, urine sample, underwent anthropometric and blood pressure measurements, and completed a risk factor questionnaire and a self-reported food frequency questionnaire. The total number of people who attended test sites was 3,653. Please see Appendix
1 for more details on survey response. Following attendance at the test site, participants were contacted to complete three separate
24-hour dietary recalls over six weeks.
This report presents the data collected in the dietary recalls. The results of the survey will be used to inform nutrition policy and to contribute to the evidence base for advice on healthy eating.
