Public Health Commons^™

Brief Report: Out Of Sight Out Of Mind - Preventable Childhood Kidney Disease In The Far North, Johanna Neville, Allison Hempenstall, Caroline Taunton, Valmay Fisher, Malcolm Mcdonald

Journal of the Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet

APSGN is an immune-mediated kidney disease that occurs after a Streptococcus pyogenes skin or throat infection in children and contributes to chronic kidney disease later in life. It is a disease of poverty and regrettably common in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children. There have been seven documented APSGN outbreaks across Far North Queensland in the last nine years. Despite this disease being notifiable in both Western Australia and the Northern Territory, Queensland is yet to acknowledge the importance of early notification in the management of APSGN. Notification-driven publication of APSGN incidence should help raise its profile and stimulate better …

Exploring The Experiences Of The Consent Process For Aboriginal And Torres Strait Islander People Having Cardiac Surgery And Participating In Medical Research: A Study Protocol, Julieann Coombes, Keziah Bennett-Brook, Kate Hunter, Tamara Mackean, Edward Litton, Jacquita S. Affandi, Courtney Ryder, Bobby Porykali, Brea Grant, Kenneth Yakubu, Colin Garlett, Camila A. Kairuz Santos

Journal of the Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet

Background: Gaining informed consent is a critical step before any medical procedure, and before taking part in medical research. Cultural differences in concepts of health and healing, communication, language, and racism, can play a part in forming barriers to gaining informed consent for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, a lack of informed consent can worsen distrust and contribute to continuing health disparities. This protocol describes a study aimed at providing a better understanding of informed consent experiences of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people undergoing heart surgery and participating in research. This …

What Works For Aboriginal And Torres Strait Islander Men? A Systematic Review Of The Literature, Jack R. Menges, Marie L. Caltabiano, Alan Clough

Journal of the Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men experience significantly higher rates of suicide, trauma, alcohol related deaths and unemployment than other Australian men. Despite significant levels of government intervention, rates of family violence, unemployment and incarceration continue to increase in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. As a subset of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population, there has been a lesser focus on how to meaningfully improve the wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men. This systematic review seeks to understand what interventions, programs and activities are successful in improving the wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men …

Analytical Methods For Allergen Control In Food Processing, Nanju Alice Lee, Andreas Ludwig Lopata, Michelle Lisa Colgrave

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Food allergy and food-related anaphylaxis have become a growing public health and food safety issue worldwide. The World Allergy Organization (WAO) estimated that 220–250 million people would live with food allergies, based on the reported prevalence of 5–8% in children and 1–2% in adults. Without a practical treatment and cure for food allergy currently available, the diligent avoidance of allergenic foods together with the prompt treatment of symptoms is the best management option available to allergic individuals. As a result, regulatory bodies in many countries mandate food allergen labelling to help allergic consumers to make informed food choices and avoid …

Combined Evaluation Of Arterial Stiffness And Blood Pressure Promotes Risk Stratification Of Peripheral Arterial Disease, Zhiyuan Wu, Yue Jiang, Qian Zhu, Haiping Zhang, Zhiwei Li, Jinqi Wang, Huiying Pan, Zheng Guo, Yulu Zheng, Xia Li, Lixin Tao, Bo Gao, Xiuhua Guo

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Background: Previous studies have reported the separate association of arterial stiffness (AS) and blood pressure with peripheral arterial disease (PAD). Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the risk stratification capacity of AS on incident PAD beyond blood pressure status. Methods: A total of 8,960 participants from Beijing Health Management Cohort were enrolled at the first health visit between 2008 and 2018 and then followed until the incidence of PAD or 2019. Elevated AS was defined as brachial-ankle pulse-wave velocity (baPWV) > 1,400 cm/s, including moderate stiffness (1,400 ≤ baPWV < 1,800 cm/s) and severe stiffness (baPWV ≥ 1,800 cm/s). PAD was defined as ankle-brachial index < 0.9. A frailty Cox model was used to calculate the HR, integrated discrimination improvement, and net reclassification improvement. Results: During follow-up, 225 participants (2.5%) developed PAD. After adjusting for confounding factors, the highest risk for PAD was observed in the group with elevated AS and blood pressure (HR: 2.253; 95% CI: 1.472-3.448). Among participants with ideal blood pressure and those with well-controlled hypertension, PAD risk was still significant for severe AS. The results remained consistent in multiple sensitivity analyses. In addition, baPWV significantly improved the predictive capacity for PAD risk beyond systolic and diastolic blood pressures (integrated discrimination improvement 0.020 and 0.190, net reclassification improvement 0.037 and 0.303). Conclusions: This study suggests the clinical importance of combined evaluation and control of AS and blood pressure for the risk stratification and prevention of PAD.

Identifying Occupational Health And Safety Risks Among Environmental Health Officers In Australia And New Zealand Through An Online Survey, Garry Dine, Sue Reed, Jacques Oosthuizen, Edmore Masaka

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

To identify the occupational health and safety (OHS) risks among environmental health officers (EHOs) in Australia and New Zealand. The objectives were to profile and compare OHS experiences from different countries and regions to gain a regional perspective on OHS hazards that impact EHOs. An online hazard exposure survey was conducted among 339 EHOs (Australia: n = 301, 88.8%; New Zealand: n = 38, 11.2%). The Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare 2 ordinal data groups, the Kruskal-Wallis H test was used for more than 2 ordinal groups, and the independent samples t test was used to compare the …

Factors Impacting Readiness To Perform Secondary Population-Based Triage During The Second Wave Of Covid-19 In Victoria, Australia: Pilot Study, Zachary B. Horn

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Objective: Pandemics generate such a significant demand for care that traditional triage methods can become saturated. Secondary population-based triage (S-PBT) overcomes this limitation. Although the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic forced S-PBT into operation internationally during the first year of the pandemic, Australian doctors were spared this responsibility. However, the second wave of COVID-19 provides an opportunity to explore the lived experience of preparing for S-PBT within the Australian context. The aim of this study is to explore the lived experience of preparing to operationalize S-PBT to allocate critical care resources during Australia's second wave of COVID-19 in 2020. Methods: Intensivists …

Subjective Versus Objective Sleep Outcomes In Older Adults With And Without Uncoupled Sleep Following Online Cognitive Behavioural Therapy For Insomnia, Yvonne Kutzer, Lisa Whitehead, Eimear Quigley, Shih Ching Fu, Mandy Stanley

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Background: Uncoupled sleep is a phenomenon characterised by a disconnect between sleep pattern and sleep complaint. This study examined the impact of uncoupled sleep on dysfunctional sleep beliefs and objective and subjective sleep outcomes in community-dwelling older adults following digitally delivered Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) to assess how these groups respond to CBT-I. Methods: Objective sleep was measured using wrist actigraphy, subjective sleep quality via sleep diaries and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Dysfunctional sleep beliefs were assessed by the Dysfunctional Beliefs and Attitudes about Sleep scale (DBAS-16). All measurements were taken prior to and following a …

Associations Between The Human Immune System And Gut Microbiome With Neurodevelopment In The First 5 Years Of Life: A Systematic Scoping Review, Vincent O. Mancini, Juliet Brook, Christian Hernandez, Deborah Strickland, Claus T. Christophersen, Nina D'Vaz, Desiree Silva, Susan Prescott, Bridget Callaghan, Jenny Downs, Amy Finlay-Jones

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

The aim of this review was to map the literature assessing associations between maternal or infant immune or gut microbiome biomarkers and child neurodevelopmental outcomes within the first 5 years of life. We conducted a PRISMA-ScR compliant review of peer-reviewed, English-language journal articles. Studies reporting gut microbiome or immune system biomarkers and child neurodevelopmental outcomes prior to 5 years were eligible. Sixty-nine of 23,495 retrieved studies were included. Of these, 18 reported on the maternal immune system, 40 on the infant immune system, and 13 on the infant gut microbiome. No studies examined the maternal microbiome, and only one study …

Biomarkers Of Oxidative Stress And Its Nexus With Haemoglobin Variants And Adverse Foeto-Maternal Outcome Among Women With Preeclampsia In A Ghanaian Population: A Multi-Centre Prospective Study, Ganiwu Abdul, William Osei-Wusu, Gordon Akuffo Asare, Samira Daud, Stephen Opoku, Valentine Christian Kodzo Tsatsu Tamakloe, Joseph Frimpong, Benedict Sackey, Wina Ivy Ofori Boadu, Vivian Paintsil, Max Efui Annani-Akollor, Yaw Amo Wiafe, Enoch Odame Anto, Otchere Addai-Mensah

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Introduction Haemoglobin variants and preeclampsia (PE) are associated with adverse fatal events of which oxidative stress may be an underlying factor. Oxidative stress (OS) among preeclamptic women with haemoglobin variants has been well established. It is, however, unclear whether haemoglobin variants induce OS to aggravate the risk of adverse foeto-maternal outcomes in pregnant women with preeclampsia. We measured the levels of OS biomarkers and determined the association between haemoglobin variants, and adverse foeto-maternal outcomes among pregnant women with PE. Methods This multi-centre prospective study recruited 150 PE women from three major health facilities in both Bono and Bono east regions …

Congenital Gastrointestinal Anomalies In Europe 2010–2019: A Geo-Spatiotemporal And Causal Inferential Study Of Epidemiological Patterns In Relationship To Cannabis- And Substance Exposure, Albert Stuart Reece, Gary Kenneth Hulse

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Introduction: Congenital anomalies (CA’s) of most of the gastrointestinal tract have been linked causally with prenatal or community cannabis exposure. Therefore, we studied this relationship in Europe. Methods: CA data were from Eurocat. Drug-use data were sourced from the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction. Income data were taken from the World Bank. Results: When countries with increasing rates of daily cannabis use were compared with those which were not, the overall rate of gastrointestinal CA’s (GCA’s) was higher in the former group (p = 0.0032). The five anomalies which were related to the metrics of cannabis exposure …

Drivesafe Driveaware: A Systematic Review, Erin Vito, Anna Barkla, Linda Coventry

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Objectives: Driving is an activity of daily living that significantly affects independence, and driving cessation is associated with poor health, lower quality of life, cognitive decline and early entry into care facilities. There is no consensus regarding the best off-road tool to assess driving safety. Therefore, this review explored the diagnostic accuracy, reliability and clinical utility of DriveSafe DriveAware (DSDA) compared with an on-road driving assessment.

Methods: This review adhered to the PRISMA guidelines. Electronic databases for all English language articles published prior to December 2021 were searched. Studies were assessed for methodological quality and results were synthesised using a …

The Australian And New Zealand Society For Sarcopenia And Frailty Research (Anzssfr) Sarcopenia Diagnosis And Management Task Force: Findings From The Consumer Expert Delphi Process, Jesse Zanker, Marc Sim, Kate Anderson, Saliu Balogun, Sharon L. Brennan-Olsen, Elsa Dent, Gustavo Duque, Christian M. Girgis, Mathis Grossmann, Alan Hayes, Tim Henwood, Vasant Hirani, Charles Inderjeeth, Sandra Iuliano, Justin Keogh, Joshua R. Lewis, Gordon S. Lynch, Julie A. Pasco, Steven Phu, Esmee M. Reijnierse, Nicholas Russell, Lara Vlietstra, Renuka Visvanathan, Troy Walker, Debra L. Waters, Solomon Yu, Andrea B. Maier, Robin M. Daly, David Scott

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Objectives:

To develop guidelines, informed by health-care consumer values and preferences, for sarcopenia prevention, assessment and management for use by clinicians and researchers in Australia and New Zealand.

Methods:

A three-phase Consumer Expert Delphi process was undertaken between July 2020 and August 2021. Consumer experts included adults with lived experience of sarcopenia or health-care utilisation. Phase 1 involved a structured meeting of the Australian and New Zealand Society for Sarcopenia and Frailty Research (ANZSSFR) Sarcopenia Diagnosis and Management Task Force and consumer representatives from which the Phase 2 survey was developed. In Phase 2, consumers from Australia and New Zealand …

The Investigation Of Health-Related Topics On Tiktok: A Descriptive Study Protocol, Joelie Mandzufas, Jeremiah Ayalde, Daniel Ta, Emily Munro, Rigel Paciente, Emmanuel P. Pranoto, Kaelyn King, Kelly How, Alanna Sincovich, Mary Brushe, Nicole Wickens, Gabriella Wells, Alix Woolard, Melinda Edmunds, Hannah Thomas, Gina S. A. Trapp, Karen Lombardi

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

The social media application TikTok allows users to view and upload short-form videos. Recent evidence suggests it has significant potential for both industry and health promoters to influence public health behaviours. This protocol describes a standardised, replicable process for investigations that can be tailored to various areas of research interest, allowing comparison of content and features across public health topics. The first 50 appearing videos in each of five relevant hashtags are sampled for analysis. Utilising a codebook with detailed definitions, engagement metadata and content variables applicable to any content area is captured, including an assessment of the video’s overall …

Patterns Of Cannabis- And Substance-Related Congenital General Anomalies In Europe: A Geospatiotemporal And Causal Inferential Study, Albert Stuart Reece, Gary Kenneth Hulse

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Introduction:

Recent series of congenital anomaly (CA) rates (CARs) have showed the close and epidemiologically causal relationship of cannabis exposure to many CARs. We investigated these trends in Europe where similar trends have occurred.

Methods:

CARs from EUROCAT. Drug use from European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction. Income data from World Bank. Results: CARs were higher in countries with increasing daily use overall (p = 9.99 × 10⁻¹⁴, minimum E-value (mEV) = 2.09) and especially for maternal infections, situs inversus, teratogenic syndromes and VACTERL syndrome (p = 1.49 × 10⁻¹⁵, mEV = 3.04). In …

Clinical Epigenomic Explanation Of The Epidemiology Of Cannabinoid Genotoxicity Manifesting As Transgenerational Teratogenesis, Cancerogenesis And Aging Acceleration, Albert Stuart Reece, Gary Kenneth Hulse

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

As global interest in the therapeutic potential of cannabis and its’ derivatives for the management of selected diseases increases, it is increasingly imperative that the toxic profile of cannabinoids be thoroughly understood in order to correctly assess the balance between the therapeutic risks and benefits. Modern studies across a number of jurisdictions, including Canada, Australia, the US and Europe have confirmed that some of the most worrying and severe historical reports of both congenital anomalies and cancer induction following cannabis exposure actually underestimate the multisystem thousand megabase-scale transgenerational genetic damage. These findings from teratogenic and carcinogenic literature are supported by …

Calling An Ambulance For Non-Emergency Medical Situations: Results Of A Cross-Sectional Online Survey From An Australian Nationally Representative Sample, Brennen Mills, Michella Hill, Alecka Miles, Erin Smith, Eben Afrifa-Yamoah, David Reid, Shane Rogers, Moira Sim

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Objective

To investigate the Australian general public's perception of appropriate medical scenarios that warrants a call to an emergency ambulance.

Methods

An online survey asked participants to identify the likely medical treatment pathway they would take for 17 hypothetical medical scenarios. The number and type of non-emergency scenarios (n = 8) participants incorrectly suggested were appropriate to place a call for an emergency ambulance were calculated. Participants included Australian residents (aged >18 years) who had never worked as an Australian registered medical doctor, nurse or paramedic.

Results

From a sample of 5264 participants, 40% suggested calling an emergency ambulance …

Models Of School Breakfast Program Implementation In Western Australia And The Implications For Supporting Disadvantaged Students, Susan M. Hill, Matthew F. Byrne, Elizabeth Wenden, Amanda Devine, Margaret Miller, Henrietta Quinlan, Donna Cross, Judy Eastham, Miranda Chester

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

A substantial body of literature points to the educational and social benefits of school breakfast programs. Most high-income countries provide free or subsidized school breakfasts to support disadvantaged children. Australia does not have a nationally-funded school meal program. Instead, charitable organizations offer school breakfast programs on a voluntary basis, often with funding support from state/territory governments. Decisions about participating in a school breakfast program (SBP), which students to support, and the degree of integration with other strategies to support disadvantaged students are made at the school level. This large-scale, multi-year study examined models of SBP implementation in Western Australian (WA) …

Would You Like Fries With That? Investigating Fast-Food Outlet Availability Near Schools In Perth, Western Australia, Gina S. A. Trapp, Paula Hooper, Wesley Billingham, Lukar Thornton, Ainslie Sartori, Kelly Kennington, Amanda Devine, Stephanie Godrich, Ros Sambell, Justine Howard, Alexia Bivoltsis

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Issue addressed: Locating fast-food outlets near schools is a potential public health risk to schoolchildren, given the easy access and repeated exposure to energy-dense, nutrient-poor foods they provide. Fast-food outlet availability near schools has not been previously investigated in Perth, Western Australia. This study aimed to quantify fast-food outlet availability near Perth schools and determine whether differences in area-level disadvantage and school type exist. Methods: Fast-food outlet locations were sourced from Perth Local Governments in 2018/2019. All Perth Primary (n = 454), Secondary (n = 107) and K-12 (n = 94) schools were assigned an area-level disadvantage decile ranking based …

Geospatiotemporal And Causal Inferential Study Of European Epidemiological Patterns Of Cannabis- And Substance-Related Congenital Orofacial Anomalies, Albert Stuart Reece, Gary Kenneth Hulse

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Introduction:

Since high rates of congenital anomalies (CAs), including facial CAs (FCAs), causally attributed to antenatal and community cannabis use have been reported in several recent series, it was of interest to examine this subject in detail in Europe.

Methods:

CA data were taken from the EUROCAT database. Drug exposure data were downloaded from the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA). Income was taken from the World Bank’s online sources.

Results:

On the bivariate maps of both orofacial clefts and holoprosencephaly against resin, the Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol concentration rates of both covariates increased together in France, Bulgaria, and the …

Australian Consumers’ Attitudes Towards Sustainable Diet Practices Regarding Food Waste, Food Processing, And The Health Aspects Of Diet: A Cross Sectional Survey, Janelle D. Healy, Satvinder S. Dhaliwal, Christina M. Pollard, Piyush Sharma, Clare Whitton, Lauren C. Blekkenhorst, Carol J. Boushey, Jane A. Scott, Deborah A. Kerr

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Environmentally sustainable diets are increasingly aspired to in food-based dietary guidelines across the world. However, little is known about consumer attitudes toward these diets when making food decisions. This study aimed to identify the demographic characteristics of Australian adults based on the level of attention they paid to the healthfulness of their diet, their consideration of the level of food processing, and their concern about household food waste and sustainable packaging disposal. Adults aged from 18 to over 75 years (n = 540) were surveyed online. Thirty-seven percent were concerned about sustainable food waste, 28 % considered the level of …

Review Of Alcohol And Drug Treatment For Aboriginal And Torres Strait Islander Peoples, Marguerite Tracy, Bradley Freeburn, Kylie Lee, Julie Woods, Kate Conigrave

Journal of the Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet

This review provides an overview of treatments for problem alcohol and other drug (AOD) use for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. It includes information on the available research and discusses core principles for providing treatment. The review outlines how effective mainstream treatment approaches can be adapted to be more suitable for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ways of being or worldview. It also highlights that services, such as those offered by Aboriginal community controlled health organisations are in a unique position to offer culturally secure treatment approaches. The barriers to accessing treatment are discussed as well as recommendations for …

Approaches To Clinical Guideline Development In Healthcare: A Scoping Review And Document Analysis, Annemarie De Leo, Dianne Bloxsome, Sara Bayes

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Background: Over the past decade, an industry has emerged around Clinical Practice Guideline (CPG) development in healthcare, which has increased pressure on guideline-producing organisations to develop CPGs at an accelerated rate. These are intended to improve the quality of care provided to patients while containing healthcare costs and reducing variability in clinical practice. However, this has inadvertently led to discrepancies in CPG recommendations between health organisations, also challenging healthcare providers who rely on these for decision-making and to inform clinical care. From a global perspective, although some countries have initiated national protocols regarding developing, appraising and implementing high-quality CPGs, there …

Adherence To A Mediterranean Diet For 6 Months Improves The Dietary Inflammatory Index In A Western Population: Results From The Medley Study, Jessie S. Clark, Kathryn A. Dyer, Courtney R. Davis, Nitin Shivappa, James R. Hébert, Richard Woodman, Jonathan M. Hodgson, Karen J. Murphy

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Increasing evidence supports that a higher dietary inflammatory index (DII®) score is associated with inflammation and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk, events, and mortality. This randomized trial sought to determine if a change to a Mediterranean diet resulted in a reduction in the DII score, and then it evaluated the relationship between the DII and cardiometabolic outcomes following the administration of a traditional Mediterranean diet in older Australian adults. A total of 152 Australian adults (mean age 71 ± 5 years) was randomly allocated either a MedDiet (n = 80) or to continue their habitual diet (HabDiet) (n = 72) for …

Higher Dietary Vitamin K Intake Is Associated With Better Physical Function And Lower Long-Term Injurious Falls Risk In Community-Dwelling Older Women, Marc Sim, C. Smith, Nicky P. Bondonno, Simone Radavelli-Bagatini, Lauren C. Blekkenhorst, Jack Dalla Via, R. Mccormick, K. Zhu, Jonathan M. Hodgson, R. L. Prince, Joshua R. Lewis

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Background: In recent years, a potential beneficial role of Vitamin K in neuromuscular function has been recognised. However, the optimal dietary intake of Vitamin K to support muscle function in the context of falls prevention remains unknown. Objective: To examine the relationship of dietary Vitamin K1 and K2 with muscle function and long-term injurious fall-related hospitalisations in older women. Design: Cohort study. Participants: 1347 community-dwelling older Australian women ≥ 70 years. Measurements: A new Australian Vitamin K nutrient database, supplemented with published data, was used to calculate Vitamin K1 and K2 intake from a validated food frequency questionnaire at baseline …

Ifi27 Transcription Is An Early Predictor For Covid-19 Outcomes, A Multi-Cohort Observational Study, Maryam Shojaei, Amir Shamshirian, James Monkman, Laura Grice, Minh Tran, Chin Wee Tan, Siok Min Teo, Gustavo Rodrigues Rossi, Timothy R. Mcculloch, Marek Nalos, Maedeh Raei, Alireza Razavi, Roya Ghasemian, Mobina Gheibi, Fatemeh Roozbeh, Peter D. Sly, Kirsten M. Spann, Keng Yih Chew, Yanshan Zhu, Yao Xia, Timothy J. Wells, Alexandra Cristina Senegaglia, Carmen Lúcia Kuniyoshi, Claudio Luciano Franck, Anna Flavia Ribeiro Dos Santos, Lucia De Noronha, Sepideh Motamen, Reza Valadan, Omolbanin Amjadi, Rajan Gogna, Esha Madan, Reza Alizadeh-Navaei, Liliana Lamperti, Felipe Zuñiga, Estefania Nova-Lamperti, Gonzalo Labarca, Ben Knippenberg, Velma Herwanto, Ya Wang, Amy Phu, Tracy Chew, Timothy Kwan, Karan Kim, Sally Teoh, Tiana M. Pelaia, Win Sen Kuan, Yvette Jee, Jon Iredell, Ken O’Byrne, John F. Fraser, Melissa J. Davis, Gabrielle T. Belz, Majid E. Warkiani, Carlos Salomon Gallo, Fernando Souza-Fonseca-Guimaraes, Quan Nguyen, Anthony Mclean, Arutha Kulasinghe, Kirsty R. Short, Benjamin Tang

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Purpose:

Robust biomarkers that predict disease outcomes amongst COVID-19 patients are necessary for both patient triage and resource prioritisation. Numerous candidate biomarkers have been proposed for COVID-19. However, at present, there is no consensus on the best diagnostic approach to predict outcomes in infected patients. Moreover, it is not clear whether such tools would apply to other potentially pandemic pathogens and therefore of use as stockpile for future pandemic preparedness.

Methods:

We conducted a multi-cohort observational study to investigate the biology and the prognostic role of interferon alpha-inducible protein 27 (IFI27) in COVID-19 patients.

Results:

We show that IFI27 is …

Novel Insights Into Potential Cannabis-Related Cancerogenesis From Recent Key Whole Epigenome Screen Of Cannabis Dependence And Withdrawal: Epidemiological Commentary And Explication Of Schrott Et Al., Albert Stuart Reece, Gary Kenneth Hulse

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Whilst the cannabis-cancer link has been traditionally described as controversial recent whole nation and whole continent studies have demonstrated that well documented laboratory-based multimodal cannabinoid genotoxicity is indeed reflected in numerous cancer types in larger epidemiological series. A recent longitudinal human sperm epigenome-wide DNA methylation screen in both cannabis dependence and cannabis withdrawal has revealed remarkable insights into the manner in which widespread perturbations of DNA methylation may lead to cancerogenic changes in both the exposed and subsequent generations as a result of both cannabis exposure and withdrawal. These results therefore powerfully strengthen and further robustify the causal nature of …

Covid-19 Lessons To Protect Populations Against Future Pandemics By Implementing Pppm Principles In Healthcare, Cuihong Tian, Lois Balmer, Xuerui Tan

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has continued for more than 3 years, placing a huge burden on society worldwide. Although the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared an end to COVID-19 as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC), it is still considered a global threat. Previously, there has been a long debate as to whether the COVID-19 emergency will eventually end or transform into a more common infectious disease from a PHEIC, and how should countries respond to similar pandemics in the future more time-efficiently and cost-effectively. We reviewed the past, middle and current situation of COVID-19 …

Genomic Epidemiology And Transmission Dynamics Of Recurrent Clostridioides Difficile Infection In Western Australia, Daniel R. Knight, Korakrit Imwattana, Deirdre A. Collins, Su-Chen Lim, Stacey Hong, Papanin Putsathit, Thomas V. Riley

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Recurrent cases of Clostridioides difficile infection (rCDI) remain one of the most common and serious challenges faced in the management of CDI. The accurate distinction between a relapse (caused by infection with the same strain) and reinfection (caused by a new strain) has implications for infection control and prevention, and patient therapy. Here, we used whole-genome sequencing to investigate the epidemiology of 94 C. difficile isolates from 38 patients with rCDI in Western Australia. The C. difficile strain population comprised 13 sequence types (STs) led by ST2 (PCR ribotype (RT) 014, 36.2 %), ST8 (RT002, 19.1 %) and ST34 (RT056, …

Ctla4 Mrna Is Downregulated By Mir-155 In Regulatory T Cells, And Reduced Blood Ctla4 Levels Are Associated With Poor Prognosis In Metastatic Melanoma Patients, Prasanna Kumar Vaddi, Douglas Grant Osborne, Andrew Nicklawsky, Nazanin K. Williams, Dinoop Ravindran Menon, Derek Smith, Jonathan Mayer, Anna Reid, Joanne Domenico, Giang Huong Nguyen, William A. Robinson, Melanie Ziman, Dexiang Gao, Zili Zhai, Mayumi Fujita

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated antigen-4 (CTLA-4) is an immune checkpoint expressed in regulatory T (Treg) cells and activated T lymphocytes. Despite its potential as a treatment strategy for melanoma, CTLA-4 inhibition has limited efficacy. Using data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) melanoma database and another dataset, we found that decreased CTLA4 mRNA was associated with a poorer prognosis in metastatic melanoma. To investigate further, we measured blood CTLA4 mRNA in 273 whole-blood samples from an Australian cohort and found that it was lower in metastatic melanoma than in healthy controls and associated with worse patient survival. We confirmed these findings …