Body Mass Index And Mortality In Aboriginal Australians In Northern Territory: A Cohort Study
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$136,220.00
Summary
The ultimate goal of this study is to define a healthy weight range for Aboriginal people. To fulfil this goal, we will investigate the health implications of body weight and weight change in Aboriginal communities. We will assess the association between body weight (as measured by body mass index) and the risk of death by examining how the death rate changes with body weight. The findings will have important implications for health professionals to provide adequate advice to Aboriginal Australi ....The ultimate goal of this study is to define a healthy weight range for Aboriginal people. To fulfil this goal, we will investigate the health implications of body weight and weight change in Aboriginal communities. We will assess the association between body weight (as measured by body mass index) and the risk of death by examining how the death rate changes with body weight. The findings will have important implications for health professionals to provide adequate advice to Aboriginal Australians, and for Aboriginal people to adopt a healthy life style in relation to body weight. Due to the differences in body shape and physiological and environmental factors between Aborigines and other populations, the optimal body weight obtained from other populations may not be applicable to Aboriginal communities. Do males and females have different optimal body weights? Do old and young people have different optimal body weights? This study will provide evidence for answering various questions like these. Individuals with different characteristics may have different optimal body weight values. Such information is useful for the development and modification of dietary guidelines for Aboriginal Australians. The results on the health impact of weight change are important for guiding weight control programs in Aboriginal communities.Read moreRead less
Genetic Factors That Predispose Low Birth Weight Babies To Increased Risk Of Hypertension And IGT.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$95,440.00
Summary
Recent research internationally has revealed that development of the fetus during pregnancy is related to later risk of hypertension and diabetes. Low birth weight infants have higher risk. While research has shown that this can't entirely be explained by genes, it is possible that some genes amplify the effect of low birth weight. This project seeks to identify such genes by examining a set of likely candidates. The targeting of these genes has been based on the knowledge that hypertension and ....Recent research internationally has revealed that development of the fetus during pregnancy is related to later risk of hypertension and diabetes. Low birth weight infants have higher risk. While research has shown that this can't entirely be explained by genes, it is possible that some genes amplify the effect of low birth weight. This project seeks to identify such genes by examining a set of likely candidates. The targeting of these genes has been based on the knowledge that hypertension and diabetes are generally more common in populations that have evolved in the tropics and have more melanin pigment in their skin. The focus in this study, therefore, is on genes that are known to be more common in these populations and also appear to affect risk of blood pressure and diabetes.Read moreRead less
The National Survey of Adult Oral Health will interview and dentally examine 7,500 people aged 15 or more across all States and Territories of Australia. It will provide a national snap-shot of the nation's oral health, including levels of tooth loss, dental decay and gum disease. The survey, to be conducted in 2004-04, will be directed by researchers at the Australian Research Center for Population Oral Health at The University of Adelaide. It will be conducted in collaboration with the Commonw ....The National Survey of Adult Oral Health will interview and dentally examine 7,500 people aged 15 or more across all States and Territories of Australia. It will provide a national snap-shot of the nation's oral health, including levels of tooth loss, dental decay and gum disease. The survey, to be conducted in 2004-04, will be directed by researchers at the Australian Research Center for Population Oral Health at The University of Adelaide. It will be conducted in collaboration with the Commonwealth and State-Territory health departments. Occurring 17 years after the first National Oral Health Survey of Australia, this new survey will monitor changes in oral health among all Australians. The survey will identify groups at particular disadvantage in terms of oral diseases, and it will search for lifestyle and community-level hazards that increase the risk of oral disorders. The study will have a compare patterns of dental health among people born before and after the fluoride generation of adults born in the 1960s when most of Australia's capital city water supplies became fluoridated. The study has been designed to automatically capture national statistics on general health among the 7,500 study participants over the next decade. The researchers will use that information to study links that have been observed in other countries between gum disease and heart disease. Results from the survey will provide the basis for monitoring progress towards national health targets and provide information to help direct dental health services into the 21st century.Read moreRead less
Psychosocial Disorders Of Youth: A Population-based Prospective Study Into Young Adulthood
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$450,939.00
Summary
Much earlier work in adults has pointed to the teens as a common point at which many of the important causes of chronic disease and disability in adults begin. These include problems such as tobacco use, depression and anxiety disorders, obesity, alcohol abuse and illicit drug use. However, only a prospective study is able to clarify to what extent common health risk behaviours of teenagers pose a threat to later health and well-being and what characteristics indicate those most likely to go on ....Much earlier work in adults has pointed to the teens as a common point at which many of the important causes of chronic disease and disability in adults begin. These include problems such as tobacco use, depression and anxiety disorders, obesity, alcohol abuse and illicit drug use. However, only a prospective study is able to clarify to what extent common health risk behaviours of teenagers pose a threat to later health and well-being and what characteristics indicate those most likely to go on to problems such as nicotine dependence, recurrent depression and illicit drug abuse. The proposal deals with the follow-up ten years on of a representative sample of 2000 Victorian teenagers. Seven earlier waves of data collections have ascertained levels and risk factors for common behavioural and mental health problems in the teens and early twenties. These problems included depression and anxiety, smoking, heavy alcohol consumption, illicit drug use, deliberate self-harm, obesity, eating disorder, sexually risky behaviour, intravenous drug use, antisocial behaviours and accidental injury. This follow-up of participants at the age of 24 to 25 years will ascertain persisting rates of these problems including levels of substance dependence and mental disorder. Social outcomes such as educational achievement, employment, relationships, parenthood and friendships will be ascertained. In addition mouth washes will be used to collect DNA to allow investigation of genes that may make a contribution to more severe mental disorder and substance dependency. This study will give a clear picture of the outcome and consquences of common adolescent health problems. It will also clarify further psychosocial factors that contribute to their onset or outcome. Together with an analysis of candidate genes the study should make a great contribution to the information necessary for planning effective preventive intervention.Read moreRead less
The starting point for this project is the recent finding that women who experience miscarriages or terminations of pregnancy before theuir first birth have an increased risk of having a preterm (premature) infant. These findings have prompted a re-evaluation of the relationship between the number of pregnancies a women has had and the likely outcome in later pregnancies. It will take into account the stage at which prior pregnancies ended, what the outcomes of the pregnancies were (birth, healt ....The starting point for this project is the recent finding that women who experience miscarriages or terminations of pregnancy before theuir first birth have an increased risk of having a preterm (premature) infant. These findings have prompted a re-evaluation of the relationship between the number of pregnancies a women has had and the likely outcome in later pregnancies. It will take into account the stage at which prior pregnancies ended, what the outcomes of the pregnancies were (birth, health baby, death, baby with a birth defect, termination, miscarriage etc), as well as factors such as maternal age, in relation to the risks in subsequent pregnancies. The expected outcomes and significance of the study are: * new evidence about factors causing adverse outcomes of pregnancy; * better information on the risk of recuurence of common birth defects; * more precise information on risks of adverse pregnancy outcomes for users and planners of maternity services.Read moreRead less