Education Commons^™

Who Is At Risk Of Chronic Disease? Associations Between Risk Profiles Of Physical Activity, Sitting And Cardio‐Metabolic Disease In Australian Adults, Lina Engelen, Joanne Gale, Josephine Chau, Louise L. Hardy, Martin Mackey, Nathan A. Johnson, Debra Shirley, Adrian E. Bauman

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Objective: To examine the associations of physical activity (PA) and sitting time (sit) with cardio‐metabolic diseases. Methods: Cross‐sectional data from the Australian National Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey 2011-2012 (n=9,435) were used to classify adults into low and high risk groups based on their physical activity and sitting behaviour profiles. Logistic regression models examined associations between low and high risk classifications (high PA‐low sit; high PA‐high sit; low PA‐low sit; low PA‐high sit;) and socio‐demographic factors, and associations between low and high risk classifications and the prevalence of cardiovascular disease, Type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome. Results: These results characterise …

Systematic Review To Inform Prevention And Management Of Chronic Disease For Indigenous Australians: Overview And Priorities, Judith Streak Gomersall, Karla Canuto, Edoardo Aromataris, Annette J. Braunack-Mayer, Alex Brown

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Objective: To describe the main characteristics of systematic reviews addressing questions of chronic disease and related risk factors for Indigenous Australians.

Methods: We searched databases for systematic reviews meeting inclusion criteria. Two reviewers assessed quality and extracted characteristics using pre‐defined tools.

Results: We identified 14 systematic reviews. Seven synthesised evidence about health intervention effectiveness; four addressed chronic disease or risk factor prevalence; and six conducted critical appraisal as per current best practice. Only three reported steps to align the review with standards for ethical research with Indigenous Australians and/or capture Indigenous‐specific knowledge. Most called for more high‐quality research.

Conclusion: Systematic …

Abnormal Electrophysiological Motor Responses In Huntington's Disease: Evidence Of Premanifest Compensation, Lauren Turner, Rodney J. Croft, Andrew Churchyard, Jeffrey C. L Looi, Deborah M. Apthorp, Nellie Georgiou-Karistianis

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Background: Huntington's disease (HD) causes progressive motor dysfunction through characteristic atrophy. Changes to neural structure begin in premanifest stages yet individuals are able to maintain a high degree of function, suggesting involvement of supportive processing during motor performance. Electroencephalography (EEG) enables the investigation of subtle impairments at the neuronal level, and possible compensatory strategies, by examining differential activation patterns. We aimed to use EEG to investigate neural motor processing (via the Readiness Potential; RP), premotor processing and sensorimotor integration (Contingent Negative Variation; CNV) during simple motor performance in HD. Methods: We assessed neural activity associated with motor preparation and processing …

Reconnecting Urban Planning With Health: A Protocol For The Development And Validation Of National Liveability Indicators Associated With Noncommunicable Disease Risk Behaviours And Health Outcomes, Billie Giles-Corti, Hannah M. Badland, Suzanne Mavoa, Gavin Turrell, Fiona Bull, Bryan Boruff, Christopher Pettit, Adrian E. Bauman, Paula Hooper, Karen Villanueva, Thomas Astell-Burt, Xiaoqi Feng, Vincent Learnihan, R Davey, Rob Grenfell, Sarah Thackway

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Aim: Liveable communities create the conditions to optimise health and wellbeing outcomes in residents by influencing various social determinants of health - for example, neighbourhood walkability and access to public transport, public open space, local amenities, and social and community facilities. This study will develop national liveability indicators that are (a) aligned with state and federal urban policy, (b) developed using national data (where available), (c) standard and consistent over time, (d) suitable for monitoring progress towards creating more liveable, equitable and sustainable communities, (e) validated against selected noncommunicable disease risk behaviours and/or health outcomes, and (f) practical for measuring …

The Pattern Of Complaints About Australian Wind Farms Does Not Match The Establishment And Distribution Of Turbines: Support For The Psychogenic, 'Communicated Disease' Hypothesis, Simon Chapman, Alexis B. St George, Karen Waller, Vince Cakic

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Background and Objectives With often florid allegations about health problems arising from wind turbine exposure now widespread, nocebo effects potentially confound any future investigation of turbine health impact. Historical audits of health complaints are therefore important. We test 4 hypotheses relevant to psychogenic explanations of the variable timing and distribution of health and noise complaints about wind farms in Australia. Setting All Australian wind farms (51 with 1634 turbines) operating 1993-2012. Methods Records of complaints about noise or health from residents living near 51 Australian wind farms were obtained from all wind farm companies, and corroborated with complaints in submissions …

Investigation Of The Relationship Between Sleep Duration, All-Cause Mortality, And Preexisting Disease, Christopher A. Magee, Elizabeth G. Holliday, John Attia, Leonard Kritharides, Emily Banks

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Objective: To examine the relationship between sleep duration and mortality and to quantify the likely impact of residual confounding due to poor health status on any observed association. Methods: The sample included 227,815 Australian adults aged 45 years and older recruited from 2006– 2009 (the 45 and Up Study). Sleep duration and relevant covariates (e.g., health status, demographic factors) were assessed through a self-report questionnaire. These data were linked with mortality data from the New South Wales Registry of Births, Deaths, and Marriages up to December 2010 (mean follow-up period, 2.8 y). Cox proportional hazards models examined the relationship between …

How The Factoid Of Wind Turbines Causing 'Vibroacoustic Disease' Came To Be 'Irrefutably Demonstrated', Simon Chapman, Alexis B. St George

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Objective: In recent years, claims have proliferated in cyberspace that wind turbines cause a large variety of symptoms and diseases. One of these, "vibroacoustic disease" (VAD) is frequently mentioned. The aim of this study is to examine the quality of the evidence on how VAD came to be associated with wind turbine exposure by wind farm opponents. Methods: Searches of the web (Google advanced) and major research databases for papers on VAD and wind turbines. Self-citation analysis of research papers on VAD. Results: Google returned 24,700 hits for VAD and wind turbines. Thirty-five research papers on VAD were found, none …

Short Sleep Duration Is Associated With Risk Of Future Diabetes But Not Cardiovascular Disease: A Prospective Study And Meta-Analysis, E G. Holliday, Christopher A. Magee, Leonard Kritharides, Emily Banks, John Attia

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Epidemiologic studies have observed association between short sleep duration and both cardiovascular disease (CVD) and type 2 diabetes, although these results may reflect confounding by pre-existing illness. This study aimed to determine whether short sleep duration predicts future CVD or type 2 diabetes after accounting for baseline health. Baseline data for 241,949 adults were collected through the 45 and Up Study, an Australian prospective cohort study, with health outcomes identified via electronic database linkage. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals. Compared to 7h sleep, <6h sleep was associated with incident CVD in participants reporting ill-health at baseline (HR=1·38 [95% CI: 1·12-1·70]), but not after excluding those with baseline illness and adjusting for baseline health status (1·03 [0·88-1·21]). In contrast, the risk of incident type 2 diabetes was significantly increased in those with <6h versus 7h sleep, even after excluding those with baseline illness and adjusting for baseline health (HR=1·29 [1·08-1·53], P=0.004). This suggests the association is valid and does not simply reflect confounding or reverse causation. Meta-analysis of ten prospective studies including 447,124 participants also confirmed an association between short sleep and incident diabetes (1·33 [1·20-1·48]). Obtaining less than 6 hours of sleep each night (compared to 7 hours) may increase type 2 diabetes risk by approximately 30%.

How Feasible Are Lifestyle Modification Programs For Disease Prevention In General Practice?, Heike Schutze, Elizabeth F. Rix, Rachel A. Laws, Megan Passey, Mahnaz Fanaian, Mark F. Harris

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Vascular disease is a leading cause of death and disability. While it is preventable, little is known about the feasibility or acceptability of implementing interventions to prevent vascular disease in Australian primary health care. We conducted a cluster randomised controlled trial assessing prevention of vascular disease in patients aged 40-65 by providing a lifestyle modification program in general practice. Interviews with 13 general practices in the intervention arm of this trial examined their views on implementing the lifestyle modification program in general practice settings. Qualitative study, involving thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews with 11 general practitioners, four practice nurses and …

Positive Association Between Plasma Homocysteine Level And Chronic Kidney Disease, Anoop Shankar, Jie Wang, Brian Chua, Elena Rochtchina, Victoria Flood, Paul Mitchell

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

BACKGROUND:

Increasing experimental evidence, including recently developed animal models, supports a role for homocysteine in the development of chronic kidney disease (CKD). However, relatively few clinical/epidemiological studies have examined this hypothesis in humans. We examined the relationship between plasma homocysteine level and CKD in a population-based study of older Australians.

METHODS:

Community-based study (1992-1994) among 2,609 individuals (58.6% women), aged 49-98 years, free of clinical cardiovascular disease in the Blue Mountains region, west of Sydney, Australia. The main outcome-of-interest was CKD (n = 461), defined as estimated glomerular filtration rate of <60 ml/min/1.73 m(2).

RESULTS:

Higher plasma homocysteine levels were positively associated with …

Childhood Tetanus In Australia: Ethical Issues For A Should-Be-Forgotten Preventable Disease, Paul N. Goldwater, Annette J. Braunack-Mayer, Richard G. Power, Paul H. Henning, M S. Gold, Terence G. Donald, Jon N. Jureidini, Christine F. Finlay

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

• Refusal of a parent to have a child vaccinated against tetanus raised ethical issues for the treating clinicians.

• The clinicians felt their duty to the child was compromised, but recognised that our society leaves the authority for such decisions with the parents.

• As there was no reason, other than different beliefs about vaccination, to doubt the parent's care for the child, the clinicians limited their response to providing strong recommendations in favour of vaccination.

• Other issues raised by this case include community protection, and the costs to the community of treating a vaccine-preventable disease.