Dietary Antioxidants And Fatty Acids And Heart Disease Risk In Southern European Migrants And Indigenous Australians
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$304,002.00
Summary
The aim in this research program is to learn more about how nutrition, particularly different types of dietary fat and antioxidants from fruit and vegetables, can affect the risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Data from Indigenous Australians known to be at high risk for these conditions, as well as Greek and Italian migrants to Australia, with low risk for cardiovascular disease, will be analyzed.
My goal is to develop substantial Australian capacity and international leadership in research on Health Impacts of Environment and Climate Change. Climate change poses diverse health risks, both direct (heatwaves, weather disasters, drought, urban air quality) and indirect (infectious disease patterns, food yields, economic loss, environmental refugee flows). My research group, with my own international connections and our strong cross-campus and external collaborative links, is ideally placed ....My goal is to develop substantial Australian capacity and international leadership in research on Health Impacts of Environment and Climate Change. Climate change poses diverse health risks, both direct (heatwaves, weather disasters, drought, urban air quality) and indirect (infectious disease patterns, food yields, economic loss, environmental refugee flows). My research group, with my own international connections and our strong cross-campus and external collaborative links, is ideally placed to do this research. Major outcomes will be: (i) enhanced understanding of the health risks from climate change and other human-induced environmental changes (including studies of their influences on patterns of infectious diseases); (ii) a broader evidence base for developing preventive-adaptive strategies to lessen health risks – and further development of my Centre’s high-level skills in translating research to social policy. My four specific aims are to: 1. Extend our research on the health impacts of climate change and other environmental changes. This will include strengthening further our international collaboration, developing new methods, and: (a) research on the health impacts of long-term drought in rural Australia; (b) elucidating the interplay of environmental, climatic, social and economic influences on infectious disease emergence and spread in the Australia-Asia region (to enhance ecological understanding, facilitate prevention-control strategies, and advance the biosecurity research agenda – including via ANU’s new Centre for Biosecurity). 2. Develop further our research on environmental and genetic influences on immune system function and autoimmune diseases, including studying the role of vitamin D. Answers to these research questions will be generalisable to the prevention and management of immune disorders. 3. Provide strong leadership in fostering international research activities, capacity and collaboration on the health impacts of global environmental-climatic changes (GEC). I have special opportunity and responsibility as co-chair of the International Council of Science project: ‘GEC and Human Health’. 4. Develop Australia’s population health research capacity with emphasis on training early-mid-career researchers. This fellowship research program would be greatly strengthened by retention of several high-performing and committed Team Investigators already working in the topic area. My central objective is to consolidate national research capacity and long-term momentum in the above areas, with high international engagement and profile. Under my directorship NCEPH has attained high visibility in: (i) climate change and health research; (ii) modeling infectious disease transmission and control; (iii) studying the environmental aetiology of immune disorders; and (iv) social-cultural epidemiological research into influences on health-reRead moreRead less
The Effectiveness Of Consuming Fluoridated Water In Reducing Children's Caries Experience.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$507,090.00
Summary
The extent to which water fluoridation has contributed to the considerable reduction of dental decay in children in recent times in Australia is unclear, due perhaps to the increasing availability of fluoride in other sources such as toothpaste, drops, tablets, and professional applications. It is proposed to monitor for approximately three years a sample of 23,140 primary and secondary school children to examine the precise contribution of consuming fluoridated water to new tooth decay. The pro ....The extent to which water fluoridation has contributed to the considerable reduction of dental decay in children in recent times in Australia is unclear, due perhaps to the increasing availability of fluoride in other sources such as toothpaste, drops, tablets, and professional applications. It is proposed to monitor for approximately three years a sample of 23,140 primary and secondary school children to examine the precise contribution of consuming fluoridated water to new tooth decay. The project also aims to examine the comparative role of diet, toothbrushing, socioeconomic status, and other factors in the development of tooth decay. Given the widespread fluoridation of water supplies in Australia, and the continuing public debate over the extent of its effectiveness in preventing tooth decay, one of the project's most significant features is its capacity to contribute to a calculation of the cost effectiveness of water fluoridation as a public health strategy for the reduction of decay experience in children. The findings of the project will provide a strong argument for either eliminating fluoride from the water supply due to it's negligable public benefit or extending water fluoridation to the remaining quarter of the Australian population who are currently being disadvantaged by not having access to the health benefits derived from consuming fluoridated water.Read moreRead less
I am an epidemiologist whose research is concerned with investigating the behavioural, social, structural and environmental determinants of obesity and its antecedent behaviours
Early Predictors And Body Composition Changes Associated With Adiposity Rebound
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$201,650.00
Summary
Overweight and obesity rates are increasing in children, and overweight children have higher risk of adult obesity and therefore diseases including heart attack, stroke and diabetes. The preschool years may offer opportunities to divert children from the path to obesity, before poor physical activity and nutritional habits become firmly established. Adiposity rebound is the time in a child's life (usually around 5 to 6 years of age) when body mass index (BMI) begins to increase after a steady de ....Overweight and obesity rates are increasing in children, and overweight children have higher risk of adult obesity and therefore diseases including heart attack, stroke and diabetes. The preschool years may offer opportunities to divert children from the path to obesity, before poor physical activity and nutritional habits become firmly established. Adiposity rebound is the time in a child's life (usually around 5 to 6 years of age) when body mass index (BMI) begins to increase after a steady decline in BMI in the preschool years. Early adiposity rebound is associated with increased BMI in later life. We don't yet know whether the early adiposity rebound causes the higher BMI, or whether it is simply an early sign of an already-established pathway of behavioural and environmental risk. We need a much better understanding of predictors of early adiposity rebound and the changes that occur to determine if age at adiposity rebound is a modifiable risk factor for adult obesity. This study will document the process and timing of adiposity rebound and the changes in percent body fat and lean body mass that occur during that time. We will also determine whether risk and protective factors for early adiposity rebound and overweight at age 6 years are the same or different. We will study over 400 children on whom extensive data have been collected since birth, including period of gestation, birth weight and length. At various stages during their first two years of life, height, weight, feeding patterns and development were recorded. We will measure BMI and perform bioimpedance analysis (BIA) on these children six times between 4 and 6 years of age. BIA provides a measure of body fat and lean mass that is well accepted by children. This will help determine the relationship between changing BMI at different ages and the fat-to-lean mass ratios associated with those changes. This study is the first to consider body composition changes during adiposity rebound.Read moreRead less