ORCID Profile
0000-0001-5566-3467
Current Organisations
University of Melbourne
,
University of Adelaide
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Publisher: Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Date: 2014
DOI: 10.1017/JNS.2014.12
Abstract: A nationwide survey of 2022 consumers was conducted in Australia in late 2011. A short list of questions about knowledge of the nutrient composition of common foods was administered along with questions about the respondents' food attitudes, demographics, school education and dieting practices. Overall, the results showed that nutrition knowledge was relatively high. Latent class analysis showed two groups of consumers with ‘high’ and ‘low’ knowledge of nutrition. Higher knowledge was positively associated with age, female sex, university education, experience of home economics or health education at school, having a chronic disease, and attitudes to food issues, and negatively with type 1 diabetes or the use of diabetes-control diets. The implications of the findings for nutrition communication are discussed.
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 18-01-2023
DOI: 10.1093/IJE/DYAC238
Abstract: Genetic and lifestyle factors are associated with cancer risk. We investigated the benefits of adhering to lifestyle advice by the World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) with the risk of 13 types of cancer and whether these associations differ according to genetic risk using data from the UK Biobank. In 2006–2010, participants aged 37–73 years had their lifestyle assessed and were followed up for incident cancers until 2015–2019. Analyses were restricted to those of White European ancestry with no prior history of malignant cancer (n = 195 822). Polygenic risk scores (PRSs) were computed for 13 cancer types and these cancers combined (‘overall cancer’), and a lifestyle index was calculated from WCRF recommendations. Associations with cancer incidence were estimated using Cox regression, adjusting for relevant confounders. Additive and multiplicative interactions between lifestyle index and PRSs were assessed. There were 15 240 incident cancers during the 1 926 987 person-years of follow-up (median follow-up = 10.2 years). After adjusting for confounders, the lifestyle index was associated with a lower risk of overall cancer [hazard ratio per standard deviation increase (95% CI) = 0.89 (0.87, 0.90)] and of eight specific cancer types. There was no evidence of interactions on the multiplicative scale. There was evidence of additive interactions in risks for colorectal, breast, pancreatic, lung and bladder cancers, such that the recommended lifestyle was associated with greater change in absolute risk for persons at higher genetic risk (P & 0.0003 for all). The recommended lifestyle has beneficial associations with most cancers. In terms of absolute risk, the protective association is greater for higher genetic risk groups for some cancers. These findings have important implications for persons most genetically predisposed to those cancers and for targeted strategies for cancer prevention.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 04-2013
Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: 07-12-2021
DOI: 10.1101/2021.12.07.21267341
Abstract: Genetic and lifestyle factors are related to the risk of cancer, but it is unclear whether a healthy lifestyle can offset genetic risk. Our aim was to investigate this for 13 cancer types using data from the UK Biobank prospective cohort. In 2006-2010, participants aged 37-73 years were assessed and followed until 2015-2019. Analyses were restricted to those of European ancestries with no history of malignant cancer (n=195,822). Polygenic risk scores (PRSs) were computed for 13 cancer types and these cancers combined (‘overall cancer’), and a healthy lifestyle score was calculated from current recommendations. Relationships with cancer incidence were examined using Cox regression, adjusting for relevant confounders. Interactions between HLI and PRSs were assessed. There were 15,240 incident cancers during the 1,926,987 person-years of follow-up (median follow-up= 10.2 years). After adjusting for confounders, an unhealthy lifestyle was associated with a higher risk of overall cancer [lowest vs highest tertile hazard ratio (95% confidence interval) = 1.32(1.26, 1.37)] and eight cancer types. The greatest increased risks were seen for cancers of the lung [3.5(2.96,4.15)], bladder [2.03 (1.57, 2.64)], and pancreas [1.98 (1.54,2.55)]. Positive additive interactions were observed, suggesting a healthy lifestyle may partially offset genetic risk of colorectal, breast, and pancreatic cancers, and may completely offset genetic risk of lung and bladder cancers. A healthy lifestyle is beneficial for most cancers and may offset genetic risk of some cancers. These findings have important implications for those genetically predisposed to these cancers and population strategies for cancer prevention.
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 19-08-2015
Abstract: Home economics and health teachers are to be found in many parts of the world. They teach students about food in relation to its nutritional, safety and environmental properties. The effects of such teaching might be expected to be reflected in the food knowledge of adults who have undertaken school education in these areas. This study examined the food knowledge associations of school home economics and health education among Australian adults. Two separate online surveys were conducted nationwide among 2022 (November 2011) and 2146 Australian adults (November-December 2012). True/false and multiple choice questions in both surveys were used to assess nutrition, food safety and environmental knowledge. Knowledge scores were constructed and compared against respondents' experience of school health or home economics education via multiple regression analyses. The results from both studies showed that home economics (and similar) education was associated with higher levels of food knowledge among several age groups. The associations of home economics education with food knowledge differed across several Australian states and recall of home economics themes differed across the age groups. These findings suggest that home economics education may bring about long-lasting learning of food knowledge. Further research is required, however, to confirm the findings and to test the causal influence of home economics education on adults' food knowledge.
No related grants have been discovered for Stephanie Byrne.