Defining Genetic And Epigenetic Variation During Early Development
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$996,075.00
Summary
We all began life with a set of genes inherited from our parents. However, it's now known that from the time we were in the womb onwards that genes can be turned off and on by the environment or even completely lost or gained. Even what your mother ate or how she behaved while she was pregnant could have influenced your future health. Because people are so different, we are studying the subtle differences between twins to tease out the factors that may influence our genes and our health.
Factors Contributing To Socioeconomic Gradients In Children's Oral Health Between 1993 And 2003
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$79,532.00
Summary
The NHMRC and the Australian National Oral Health Plan have identified health inequalities as a critical health issue. Dental caries in children increasingly has become concentrated in disadvantaged population groups. While previous studies have documented socioeconomic gradients in oral health, few have sought to explain the reasons underlying those inequalities. By taking advantage of two existing datasets of child oral health in Australia, collected in 1992 and 2002, we will be able to quanti ....The NHMRC and the Australian National Oral Health Plan have identified health inequalities as a critical health issue. Dental caries in children increasingly has become concentrated in disadvantaged population groups. While previous studies have documented socioeconomic gradients in oral health, few have sought to explain the reasons underlying those inequalities. By taking advantage of two existing datasets of child oral health in Australia, collected in 1992 and 2002, we will be able to quantify change in socioeconomic inequalities in oral health, and identify population-wide exposures to preventive practices and social circumstances that may have contributed to that change.Read moreRead less
Elucidating Genetic Mechanisms Responsible For Familial Hyperaldosteronism Type II
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$424,812.00
Summary
Primary aldosteronism (PAL) is the commonest specifically treatable and potentially curable form of hypertension (high blood pressure), a common disease, expensive to treat, with serious morbidity and mortality. This project will use cutting edge technology to gain new knowledge concerning how genes regulate the body's production of aldosterone (salt hormone), which will help us understand how PAL develops and how common it is, and could lead to better approaches to diagnosis and treatment.
Modelling The Effects Of Immunity On Influenza Transmission - Implications For Prevention And Vaccine Development
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$275,767.00
Summary
There is uncertainty about how many people can be infected by a single person with influenza at the start of an outbreak. Some data suggest that a single generation of transmission can infect 10-20 other people. With such a rate of growth (ie 10-20 fold every 3 days) the spread of an influenza outbreak is virtually unstoppable. Other data suggest that each person with influenza infects less than 2 other people on average. With such a lower rate of growth, control would be more feasible. Our proj ....There is uncertainty about how many people can be infected by a single person with influenza at the start of an outbreak. Some data suggest that a single generation of transmission can infect 10-20 other people. With such a rate of growth (ie 10-20 fold every 3 days) the spread of an influenza outbreak is virtually unstoppable. Other data suggest that each person with influenza infects less than 2 other people on average. With such a lower rate of growth, control would be more feasible. Our project will use data from historic and contemporary outbreaks of influenza and build mathematical models to explain the rate of growth of an influenza outbreak in terms of: 1. The proportion of people exposed to influenza who do not become ill (although there can be evidence of infection if careful studies are made). This proportion is about 33%. 2. The proportion of people who are protected from influenza by immunity, whether induced by vaccination or by past exposure to natural influenza infection (this can vary from 0% in isolated populations which have not seen influenza for many years up to 80 or 90% in urbanised populations that are exposed to influenza almost every season). 3. Different rates of contact between different people and groups of people - some may be exposed so often that their immunity is boosted regularly without them becoming severely ill; others, living in more isolated circumstances, may be rarely exposed, but when they are, they are more likely to become severely ill. 4. The effects of influenza vaccine in inducing protective immunity - it is well known that there is good protection if the vaccine is well matched to the circulating virus. 5. The effects of live virus infection in inducing (short-lived) protection against a wider range of influenza viruses. Our model results will be used to guide vaccine design and pandemic planning.Read moreRead less
Population Based Estimates Of MBS, PBS And Hospital Utilisation Rates Using Prevalent Chronic Disease Denominators
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$246,000.00
Summary
This project will use hospital morbidity and mortality data from the WA Data Linkage System, linked to the Medicare Benefits Scheme and Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme databases to produce measures of disease occurrence and health service utilisation within the Western Australian population according to indices of social and geographical disadvantage. The first objective will involve establishing teams of clinicians and researchers who will work together to develop and validate lists of MBS and P ....This project will use hospital morbidity and mortality data from the WA Data Linkage System, linked to the Medicare Benefits Scheme and Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme databases to produce measures of disease occurrence and health service utilisation within the Western Australian population according to indices of social and geographical disadvantage. The first objective will involve establishing teams of clinicians and researchers who will work together to develop and validate lists of MBS and PBS item numbers that are indicative of specified chronic diseases. This information will then be used to identify patients with these conditions from the MBS and PBS databases during the period 1990-2003 and this method of case ascertainment will be compared with the use of the Hospital morbidity data system alone. Once groups of patients have been identified, their utilisation rates of MBS, PBS and hospital services will be calculated. The effect of social and geographical indices on the occurrence of disease and the utilisation of services will also be studied. Trends over time in health status and health service utilisation are vital to the evidence-based planning and evaluation of health services and to the provision of an equitable and accessible health service which is based on the needs of the community. The work will represent the first time that the utilisation of Australian MBS and PBS itemised services is measured in diagnostically defined groups of patients with chronic diseases.Read moreRead less