Maternal Health Study (phase 2): Longitudinal 4-year Follow-up Of A Prospective Nulliparous Pregnancy Cohort
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$660,402.00
Summary
The burden of disease among women after childbirth is substantial, under-recognised by health professionals, and symptoms do not necessarily resolve within the first 12 months. Common health problems after childbirth include: chronic exhaustion, back pain, urinary and faecal incontinence, perineal pain, sexual health issues and intimate partner violence. This study will extend follow-up of over 1500 women taking part in a longitudinal study investigating the physical and psychological health of ....The burden of disease among women after childbirth is substantial, under-recognised by health professionals, and symptoms do not necessarily resolve within the first 12 months. Common health problems after childbirth include: chronic exhaustion, back pain, urinary and faecal incontinence, perineal pain, sexual health issues and intimate partner violence. This study will extend follow-up of over 1500 women taking part in a longitudinal study investigating the physical and psychological health of women during pregnancy and the first 18 months after the birth of their first child. In phase 2 of the study, women will be followed up 6 and 12 months after second and subsequent births, and 4 years after the birth of their first child. A major aim of phase 2 of the study is to assess the prevalence, incidence, onset, severity, duration, recurrence and chronicity of maternal health problems (including urinary and faecal incontinence, perineal pain, sexual health issues, depression and intimate partner violence) after second and subsequent births, and 4 years after giving birth to a first child. The study will also determine the extent to which the method of birth in the first birth influences longer-term maternal health outcomes including urinary and faecal incontinence, and investigate the implications of chronic and recurring physical health problems for women's psychological health and well-being. Information on the incidence and natural history of maternal health problems after caesarean and operative vaginal births will make a major international contribution to more informed debate among clinicians, and to informing women, about the risks and benefits of increasing caesarean births. The study findings will be used to inform clinical midwifery, obstetric and primary care practice, and assist in the design of new early intervention and primary care strategies for supporting women in the early years of parenting.Read moreRead less
Climate Change And Rural Communities: Integrated Study Of Physical And Social Impacts, Health Risks And Adaptive Options
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$611,599.00
Summary
Rural Australia has begun to experience climate change impacts - which will increase in future. Losses in farm yields, water supplies, property, community morale and family incomes have diverse health effects. We will study the separate and joint effects of climate change and associated extreme events (e.g., bushfires) on selected health outcomes. Using integrative methods, we will clarify the main influences on health risks, their future projections, and how best to intervene to lessen risks.
Predictors And Correlates Of Health-related Quality Of Life And Morbidity In Overweight/obese Adolescents: Cohort Study
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$512,525.00
Summary
There is now no doubting the size and long-term risks to health of the childhood obesity epidemic. However, very little research has examined at population level its immediate consequences for mental health and physical functioning, what pathways confer risk and protection for these consequences, and their likely healthcare consequences. This study will utilise an existing cohort of approximately 1500 Victorian adolescents followed since childhood to examine neglected aspects of the genesis and ....There is now no doubting the size and long-term risks to health of the childhood obesity epidemic. However, very little research has examined at population level its immediate consequences for mental health and physical functioning, what pathways confer risk and protection for these consequences, and their likely healthcare consequences. This study will utilise an existing cohort of approximately 1500 Victorian adolescents followed since childhood to examine neglected aspects of the genesis and impacts of overweight and obesity. The Health of Young Victorians Study was originally assembled in 1997 when the children were in Grades Prep-3. In addition to information on putative risk and protective factors for overweight-obesity and direct measures of height and weight, it is unique in having collected data on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) since children were first recruited during the early primary school years. Eight years after the first wave, the children will be adolescents in Grades 8-11. This third wave will retain a focus on HRQoL. Innovations include study of potential emotional, behavioural and physical consequences of childhood obesity that may in turn affect the natural history of obesity. This large, population-based longitudinal study will redress neglected aspects of child and adolescent overweight-obesity specifically identified in 2003 by the NH and MRC. As well as establishing whether a range of common problems are related to overweight-obesity, it will be able to shed light on mechanisms of adverse outcomes associated with adolescent overweight-obesity, and study protective factors predicting remitting overweight from childhood to adolescence that may inform preventive activities. The study will make an international contribution to knowledge about pathways, prevalence and preventive opportunities for child and adolescent overweight-obesity.Read moreRead less
Young Adult Social Transitions - Course Of Mental And Behavioural Disorders:The Victorian Adolescent Health Cohort Study
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$560,750.00
Summary
The paths young people follow into adulthood have changed markedly in the past three decades. Traditionally the adoption of a role as marital partner, parent and fulltime employee in the late teens and early twenties was accompanied by a diminution or 'maturing out' of health risk behaviours and emotional problems arising in adolescence. The social transitions into adulthood are now both delayed and in many instances changed with higher rates of cohabitation, extended teriary educational partici ....The paths young people follow into adulthood have changed markedly in the past three decades. Traditionally the adoption of a role as marital partner, parent and fulltime employee in the late teens and early twenties was accompanied by a diminution or 'maturing out' of health risk behaviours and emotional problems arising in adolescence. The social transitions into adulthood are now both delayed and in many instances changed with higher rates of cohabitation, extended teriary educational participation and part-time employment. The effect of these social changes on health risk behaviours, behavioural and mental disorders is uncertain. This proposal will undertake a further follow-up in the late twenties of a group of just under 2000 young Victorians, already studied from the age of 14 years through to the age of 24 years. This study will assess the persistence of behavioural problems such as smoking and nicotine dependence, excessive alcohol consumption and dependence, cannabis dependence, illicit drug use, risk sexual behaviour, depression and anxiety disorders. The extent to which these may be associated with successful negotiation of transitions in education, employment, relationships, parenthood and establishing an independent home will be evaluated. Alternative explanations including the severity of dependence syndrome, personality, social background and genetic risk factors will also be explored.Read moreRead less
Early Life Stress, Adolescent Brain Development And Risk For Adverse Cognitive And Psychosocial Outcomes
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$640,595.00
Summary
This project aims to study pre and postnatal childhood factors and examine their association with HPA-functioning, cognition, and mental health during adolescence in the Western Australian Pregnancy Cohort Study (Raine Study). Childhood exposures include not only trajectories of stressful life events, family functioning and mental health status during childhood, but also effects of intrauterine and postnatal growth patterns, and a comprehensive range of psychosocial, familial and environmental f ....This project aims to study pre and postnatal childhood factors and examine their association with HPA-functioning, cognition, and mental health during adolescence in the Western Australian Pregnancy Cohort Study (Raine Study). Childhood exposures include not only trajectories of stressful life events, family functioning and mental health status during childhood, but also effects of intrauterine and postnatal growth patterns, and a comprehensive range of psychosocial, familial and environmental factors. It is our objective to characterise functional polymorphisms for genes related to stress regulation and examine their interactions with early life exposures and their neurobiological consequences. We will also test 16 year old Raine subjects for cognitive ability, and in some we will image their brain activity while performing these tests. We anticipate to enhance the already comprehensive phenotypic Raine Study data base with neurobiological information for future neuroscience studies as the Raine cohort matures. We hypothesise that increased and sustained trajectories of early life stress, family dysfunction or poor mental health during childhood will increase the risk of Raine Study adolescents experiencing: (i) - increased stress sensitivity with higher baseline cortisol levels during adolescence; (ii) - increased adolescent stress sensitivity, if they are carriers of specific haplotypes of the glucocorticoid and mineralocorticoid receptor genes.;(iii) - depression during adolescence, if they are homozygous or heterozygous for the short allele of the serotonin transporter (5-HTT) gene; (iv) - poorer cognitive performance and increased atypical non-prefrontal cortex (PFC) brain activity during cognitive testing as measured by fMRI; and (v) -more mental health problems during adolescence.Read moreRead less