Risk Factors For Chronic Respiratory Diseases In Middle Age: 36-year Follow-up Of The Tasmanian Asthma Study
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$358,750.00
Summary
This project will improve our understanding of the causes of chronic respiratory diseases (CRDs) in adults. CRDs are clearly a major public health problem, but there are no good data on the natural history and risk factors for these diseases. Regular follow-up through childhood to adulthood is the best method to examine these factors, but such data is lacking due to difficulties in conducting long-term studies. The Tasmanian Asthma Study (TAS), based on 8,585 Tasmanians (i.e. probands) born in 1 ....This project will improve our understanding of the causes of chronic respiratory diseases (CRDs) in adults. CRDs are clearly a major public health problem, but there are no good data on the natural history and risk factors for these diseases. Regular follow-up through childhood to adulthood is the best method to examine these factors, but such data is lacking due to difficulties in conducting long-term studies. The Tasmanian Asthma Study (TAS), based on 8,585 Tasmanians (i.e. probands) born in 1961, is one of the worlds most important resources of such information. The probands, their parents (16,267) and siblings (21,044) were first investigated for respiratory problems in 1968. Subsequently, three follow-up surveys were carried out at ages 13 (1974), 20 (1981) and 31 (1992) on either the total or sub-samples of the probands. In 1992, the children and spouses of the probands were also surveyed. Information on all respiratory problems was collected in all the follow-ups, although the main focus of the TAS to date has been asthma. The probands are now reaching the age at which all CRD as a group are beginning to inflict an increasing disease burden, which will become greater in the next two decades. Hence, TAS now provides an ideal opportunity to examine the potential risk factors and natural history of and of CRDs using data collected to date and new data collected at age 43. Also, it will provide a platform for future studies to investigate the progression of CRDs in this cohort. Hence, we propose to carry out the 36 year follow-up of this cohort focusing on CRDs. This will provide important information for preventing chronic respiratory morbidity and disability in the future, which will be original and significant not only in Australia but also internationally.Read moreRead less
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
Defining Risk And Mechanisms Of Permucosal Transmission For Acute HCV Infection Within High-risk Populations.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$395,182.00
Summary
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is usually transmitted by blood-to-blood contact. The risk of transmission by sexual contact has been thought to be low. However, in recent years increasing hepatitis C infection has been documented among HIV-positive gay men, with sexual contact the most most likely means of infection in the majority of cases. This grant will use established cohorts to define levels of hepatitis C risk through sexual contact among homosexual men to inform public health strategies.
Case-control Studies Of Completed And Attempted Suicide In Young People In NSW
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$819,000.00
Summary
Youth suicide rates have been increasing dramatically over the last three to four decades. The causes and determinants of these suicide rate changes remain unclear, as do the causes and determinants of the suicides themselves. Despite a range of risk factors being identified by researchers, predicting an individual suicide is difficult due to the range of factors involved and the complex interactions between them. This study will investigate associations between individual and environmental fact ....Youth suicide rates have been increasing dramatically over the last three to four decades. The causes and determinants of these suicide rate changes remain unclear, as do the causes and determinants of the suicides themselves. Despite a range of risk factors being identified by researchers, predicting an individual suicide is difficult due to the range of factors involved and the complex interactions between them. This study will investigate associations between individual and environmental factors for both completed suicides and suicide attempts in young people aged 18-34 years living in NSW. The study will be undertaken in Sydney, Newcastle and in identified rural areas. The study is embedded in existing treatment, counselling and support services and will aid their improvement and augmentation. Cases of suicide and attempted suicide will be compared with community controls, and also completed suicides with attempted suicides, to identify potentially modifiable risk factors associated with suicidal behaviour. This will provide more comprehensive information relating to how various risk factors interact and influence suicidal behaviour, including in rural areas with significant Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. Information from this study will improve prevention initiatives and assist with community strategic development and provide evidence to enhance current health service and coronial interventions.Read moreRead less
It has been proposed that inflammation plays a major role in prostate cancer risk. We are well placed to test this hypothesis following up evidence from our MCCS and RFPCS studies of associations between inflammatory markers and prostate cancer risk. This proposed project may open for the first time opportunities for the prevention of prostate cancer.
Melanoma is one of Australia?s major cancer problems, but we still do not completely understand why certain people are at higher risk than others. This study is focussed on people who have developed melanoma at an early age (under 40yrs) and will compare their family history of cancer, skin features, genetic characteristics and various aspects of their previous sun exposure with people who don?t have melanoma. The large number of people involved and the fact that they will be selected at random ....Melanoma is one of Australia?s major cancer problems, but we still do not completely understand why certain people are at higher risk than others. This study is focussed on people who have developed melanoma at an early age (under 40yrs) and will compare their family history of cancer, skin features, genetic characteristics and various aspects of their previous sun exposure with people who don?t have melanoma. The large number of people involved and the fact that they will be selected at random from the population of Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane which have very different melanoma rates, means that the study will be able to clarify what roles genes and environment play in the disease. It is intended to be an international benchmark in this regard, and Australia is the only country in which a study of this scope could be mounted. Potential benefits from this research will be a better understanding of the way sun exposure affects people differently, depending on their genetic makeup, the place of genetic testing in assessing people?s risk of melanoma, particularly if they have relatives with the disease, and way in which skin features like moles should be taken into account in that assessment. Finally, it is likely that better information about the types of genetic susceptibility to melanoma in the population will translate to more effective programs for the prevention of melanoma and for detection of melanomas efficiently at the earliest possible stage.Read moreRead less
Caries Initiation Across Childhood To Adulthood By Exposure To Water Fluoridation
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$198,297.00
Summary
This research program is expected to contribute to filling significant gaps in the understanding of factors determining the oral health of Australian children and young adults. The purpose of the project is to develop a better understanding of the outcome of long-term exposure to fluoridated water among young adults.
A Five Year Follow-up Of People With Type 2 Diabetes & Other States Of Glucose Intolerance And Associated Risk Factors
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,677,855.00
Summary
The Australian Prospective Diabetes Study (APDS) is a 5 year follow-up study established to examine the natural history of diabetes and its complications, as well as heart disease and kidney disease. It is a follow-up to the recently completed AusDiab study and addresses some of the important gaps that exist nationally and internationally in the understanding of the burden of Type 2 diabetes and related problems. AusDiab found that 1 in 4 Australians aged 25 years and over has either diabetes or ....The Australian Prospective Diabetes Study (APDS) is a 5 year follow-up study established to examine the natural history of diabetes and its complications, as well as heart disease and kidney disease. It is a follow-up to the recently completed AusDiab study and addresses some of the important gaps that exist nationally and internationally in the understanding of the burden of Type 2 diabetes and related problems. AusDiab found that 1 in 4 Australians aged 25 years and over has either diabetes or a condition of impaired glucose metabolism (this condition is associated with substantially increased immediate risk of heart disease as well as increased risk of diabetes in the future). This new study-APDS, will be the first Australian and indeed international study of its type. We intend to invite 7000 out of the original 11,247 AusDiab sample to participate. Participants who agree to take part in the follow-up study will be involved in 2 ways: 1. A 6-12 monthly contact with participants by telephone or mail to allow reporting of changes in health and utilisation of health services. 2. A 5 year biomedical follow-up survey. This will involve a survey team travelling around Australia to test the participants for diabetes, heart and kidney disease and cardiovascular risk factors (e.g. blood pressure and cholesterol). It will accurately define how many Australians are likely to develop diabetes (as well as kidney and heart disease) in the future, and who is at highest risk. It is expected that outcomes from this study will provide crucial information for both planning and testing public health policy and for the appropriate allocation of resources including specific treatments of individuals and specific groups with or at risk of Type 2 diabetes and its complications within the Australian population.Read moreRead less
Concord Hormones And Ageing In Men Project (CHAMP)
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,780,887.00
Summary
Throughout life men have poorer health than women, a health difference that extends into old age. In Australia in 2001, life expectancy for a 65 year old man was 20% less than for a 65 year old woman (81.6 years for men and 85.2 years for women). The study proposed here will fill major gaps in knowledge about key health problems in older men. The study will be called CHAMP: Concord Hormones and Ageing in Men Project. As people grow older, health problems that cause loss of independence and reduc ....Throughout life men have poorer health than women, a health difference that extends into old age. In Australia in 2001, life expectancy for a 65 year old man was 20% less than for a 65 year old woman (81.6 years for men and 85.2 years for women). The study proposed here will fill major gaps in knowledge about key health problems in older men. The study will be called CHAMP: Concord Hormones and Ageing in Men Project. As people grow older, health problems that cause loss of independence and reduced quality of life become increasingly important. The term 'geriatric giants' is sometimes used to describe these disabling syndromes: falls and fractures, cognitive impairment and dementia, urinary incontinence, and poor mobility and functional dependence. CHAMP has been designed to investigate the causes of, and inter-relationships between, these geriatric syndromes in men. Reproductive hormones are responsible for the fundamental biological differences between men and women. Underpinning CHAMP is the idea that age-related changes in reproductive hormones play an important role in the development of the geriatric syndromes in older men. There have been numerous studies of oestrogen and health in older women but only limited research on testosterone and other reproductive hormones in older men. CHAMP will be the largest study of the geriatric syndromes in older men ever conducted. The study will inlvolve 2800 men aged 65 years and over recruited from the community around Concord Hospital in Sydney. These men will each spend 3 hours at the study centre, where they will have a comprehensive physical examination and tests for osteoporosis, muscle weakness, dementia and urinary problems, as well as blood tests. This will all be repeated 2 years later.Read moreRead less
Comprehensive Assessment Of Genetic And Environmental Risk Factors For Melanoma: A Population-based Family Study
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$150,679.00
Summary
Excessive sunlight can cause melanoma, a serious type of skin cancer. However, there are other factors including a person's genetic make-up that are thought to put some people at higher risk. Many 'healthy' people have small changes in their genes that might make them more likely to develop melanoma. We need to know more about these genetic factors. Our study will investigate how particular small genetic changes influence a person's likelihood of developing melanoma.