Endoscopy was undertaken to examine the gastroduodenal mucosa of 24 healthy dogs after seven days and again after 28 days of oral non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) administration. The dogs were divided into four groups. One group received ketoprofen (1 mg/kg every 24 hours), one group carprofen (2 mg/kg every 12 hours for seven days followed by 2 mg/kg every 24 hours), a third group meloxicam suspension (0.2 mg/kg every 24 hours), and the last group gelatin (one capsule every 24 hours). Serum biochemical and complete blood count parameters did not change significantly after NSAID administration. Gastroduodenal lesions were observed in 17 dogs, but in all cases these were mild to moderate. The dogs receiving gelatin or carprofen showed the fewest and the least severe lesions, although there was no statistically significant difference between the three test drugs and the control group (P < or = 0.05). None of the dogs showed any clinical signs related to the gastrointestinal lesions.

Objective: To assess the acceptability, reliability and validity of the SF‐36 health survey in the New Zealand population and provide key population norms. Method: The SF‐36 questionnaire was part of the 1996/97 New Zealand health survey, a cross‐sectional, nationally representative survey of 7,862 adults (15 years and over). Results: Overall, in the New Zealand population the questionnaire performed as well as or better than in other national surveys, but there was variability in data completeness across subgroups, and responses were skewed towards the healthy end of the scales. Males scored higher than females on almost all scales; increasing age was associated with decreasing scores (with the exception of the mental health scale); and New Zealand Europeans tended to report better health than the other ethnic groups. Conclusions: Satisfactory psychometric performance was demonstrated for the SF‐36 in the New Zealand population, but researchers need to find ways of increasing data completeness in population groups shown here to have lower completion rates. The questionnaire may be better at discriminating patient rather than population subgroups. The SF‐36 normative data confirm in kind, if not in degree, population subgroup disparities in health status observed using objective measures. Implications: Overall, the SF‐36 questionnaire appears to be a valid and reliable measure of health‐related quality of life for the New Zealand population. However, this paper highlights issues for researchers using the SF‐36, such as the skewed nature of responses obstained in a population sample.

A 'Healthy' dietary pattern was associated with higher socio-economic status and reduced adiposity, while the 'traditional' pattern was associated with lower socio-economic status.

The present retrospective study was designed to explore the question of whether or not ego identity status transition pathways and change rates differ significantly across domains of identity development from adolescence through middle adulthood. A sample of 100 middle- and upper-middle-class New Zealand adults from forty to sixty-three years of age were interviewed regarding the development of values in the areas of vocation, religion, politics, and gender roles, and relationships using an adaptation of the Marcia Ego Identity Status Interview. Raters later assigned an identity status for each year of chronological age for each participant. Preliminary analyses indicated that subgroups of the larger sample differed significantly in terms of identity status transition patterns. Within each of the eight subgroups examined, there were statistically significant differences in transition pathways and change rates across the five identity domains. These findings suggest the importance of examining separate identity domains and controlling for demographic variables in future studies of adult identity development. Results are discussed in terms of Grotevant's process model of identity formation.