Low-yield Cigarettes And Diminution Of Small Airways Lung Function In Long-term Smokers
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$209,500.00
Summary
The modern cigarette has been designed to produce low yields of tar when the tobacco in the cigarette is burnt. The tar contains human carcinogens, and monitoring and regulating yields of tar has long been part of the comprehensive tobacco control strategy in Australia. This focus on tar has given an implicit endorsement of the low-yield cigarette as a safer cigarette. Recently, however, controversy has emerged about whether smoking low-yield cigarettes has reduced the harm done by smoking. The ....The modern cigarette has been designed to produce low yields of tar when the tobacco in the cigarette is burnt. The tar contains human carcinogens, and monitoring and regulating yields of tar has long been part of the comprehensive tobacco control strategy in Australia. This focus on tar has given an implicit endorsement of the low-yield cigarette as a safer cigarette. Recently, however, controversy has emerged about whether smoking low-yield cigarettes has reduced the harm done by smoking. The concern is that adenocarcinoma of the lung, a type of lung cancer that is most common in the small peripheral airways, has increased in frequency. This could be because the low-yield cigarette, with reduced yields of nicotine as well as tar, is smoked more intensely by smokers to compensate for the low nicotine. By smoking more intensely, we mean taking larger and more frequent puffs, inhaling the smoke deeply into the lungs, and holding the breath before expiring. This method of smoking would result in more tar particles being deposited in the peripheries of the lung where adenocarcinoma is most common. Because cigarette smoking has been linked also with other structural changes in the small airways of the lung, resulting in obstruction of airflow, we will test whether smoking low-yield cigarettes is associated with greater obstruction of the small airways than is smoking higher-yield cigarettes. To test whether the mechanism is the method of smoking, we will carefully describe and quantify each subject's pattern of smoking including the deposition of smoke-like Technegas particles in the peripheral lung.Read moreRead less
Infectious And Lifestyle Determinants Of Non-melanoma Skin Cancer.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$983,711.00
Summary
Basal and squamous cell skin cancers are the leading cancers in Australia, with about 2% of the population developing them each year. As well as sun exposure, a number of other factors have been thought to effect these cancers. This study will examine if factors such as smoking, alcohol consumption and infection with certain skin related human papillomaviruses also increase their risk. Even a small effect may make a big difference when it comes to preventing these common cancers.
Asthma, Lung Function, Snoring And Passive Smoking In Busselton
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$115,110.00
Summary
Respiratory diseases such as asthma, chronic obstructive airway disease, and sleep apnoea are common in the community, and asthma is becoming more and more common. These diseases are a major cause of morbidity, lost time from work, use of health and community resources and death. Using information collected by the Busselton Health Studies between 1966 and 2000, we will investigate some new epidemiological aspects of respiratory diseases. Some of the questions we will examine are: * How much more ....Respiratory diseases such as asthma, chronic obstructive airway disease, and sleep apnoea are common in the community, and asthma is becoming more and more common. These diseases are a major cause of morbidity, lost time from work, use of health and community resources and death. Using information collected by the Busselton Health Studies between 1966 and 2000, we will investigate some new epidemiological aspects of respiratory diseases. Some of the questions we will examine are: * How much more common has asthma become in the Busselton population? Has the increase been more pronounced in some groups than in others (eg younger people)? Have other respiratory diseases also become more common? * Is decline in FEV1 over time a more useful measure of lung health than a single FEV1 measurement? How is decline in FEV1 related to age and other factors such as asthma, smoking, chronic respiratory diseases and hay fever? * Do the following put people at increased risk of sleep apnoea: overweight, recent weight gain, smoking, heavy alcohol intake, respiratory illness, cardiovascular disease and use of sedatives? * Do non-smoking spouses of smokers suffer more respiratory illness than spouses of non-smokers? We expect that results from this study will increase our understanding of the causes and progression of respiratory diseases, and may eventually point to ways of reducing the burden of these diseases in the community. Since all the information needed has already been collected in the course of earlier health surveys, this study will be particularly cost-effective.Read moreRead less
GENETIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINANTS OF MAMMOGRAPHIC DENSITY: A TWINS AND SISTERS STUDY
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$703,100.00
Summary
Breast cancer is a major cause of early death and disability in Australian women. Breast density, a characteristic of women's breast that can be mesured by mammograms such as those conducted by BreastScreen, has been shown by a number of large studies to be a major risk factor for breast cancer. It is a characteristic that cannot be measured by breast examination, but is very well measured by a breast scan. Although breast density decreases with age at and after menopause, there is a large diffe ....Breast cancer is a major cause of early death and disability in Australian women. Breast density, a characteristic of women's breast that can be mesured by mammograms such as those conducted by BreastScreen, has been shown by a number of large studies to be a major risk factor for breast cancer. It is a characteristic that cannot be measured by breast examination, but is very well measured by a breast scan. Although breast density decreases with age at and after menopause, there is a large difference in breast density across women of the same age. Identifying the reasons why women of the same age differ so much in breast density will lead to a better understanding of the causes of breast cancer and have implications for prevention. We have conducted a large twin study, in collaboration with Dr Norman Boyd in Toronto, Canada, that has shown that most of this large variation in breast density could be due to as yet undiscovered genetic factors. The genes involved are not BRCA1 and BRCA2, the currently known breast cancer susceptibility genes. We have also found that lifestyle factors, such as number of children, also influences breast density. In this larger study of twins and sister pairs, we shall test whether specific hormone genes, such as those involved with estrogen and progesterone, explain part of the genetic effects. We will also study more closely the effects of environmental and lifestyle factors on breast density, especially how their effects interact with those of any genetic factors we identify, by comparing twins and sister of the same or similar age. By studying women who have had endometriosis, we will be able to find out if their small increased risk of breast cancer is reflected in their breast density. By collecting a blood sample from all participants we will build a large resource that will be used for future genome scan studies, trying to discover new genes that influence breast density, and by implication, risk of breast cancer.Read moreRead less