Environmental And Metabolic Influences On Musculoskeletal And Other Diseases In A Cohort Of Elderly Women
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$840,575.00
Summary
Osteoporosis is a largely preventable disease yet 1 in 10 Australians have osteoporosis. Every year >64,000 osteoporotic fractures occur, which is one every 8.1 minutes and women are three times as likely to have the disease than men. The Bone and Calcium Research Group at the University of Western Australia, has been monitoring a cohort of elderly women for since 1998. This study is called the Calcium Intake Fracture Outcome Study or CAIFOS. 1,500 women were recruited to study whether a dail ....Osteoporosis is a largely preventable disease yet 1 in 10 Australians have osteoporosis. Every year >64,000 osteoporotic fractures occur, which is one every 8.1 minutes and women are three times as likely to have the disease than men. The Bone and Calcium Research Group at the University of Western Australia, has been monitoring a cohort of elderly women for since 1998. This study is called the Calcium Intake Fracture Outcome Study or CAIFOS. 1,500 women were recruited to study whether a daily calcium supplement for 5 years helps to prevent fractures compared to a diet without a supplement. Each year the study participants are reviewed and asked whether or not they have broken any bones and have other measurements to monitor their bone and cardiovascular health and cognitive function. The subjects will end the treatment phase in 2003 and they will find out the results of the study. More than 93% are interested in being followed for a further 5 years, where they will be contacted every 6 months and asked questions about their general health including information on fracture, hospital visits and changes in medication use. The subjects will have a clinic visits at 2 and 5 years post treatment. With the ongoing collection of adverse event data and metabolic and environmental data from the first phase of the study, we will be able to examine the metabolic and environmental factors that influence musculoskeletal, cardiovascular and mental health. This is important to determine how we can prevent disease to maintain the quality of life and independence in the elderly, a growing segment of the population.Read moreRead less
The FREEDOM Study: A RCT Of Sunlight And Calcium To Reduce Vitamin D Deficiency In Older People In Residential Care
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$838,972.00
Summary
The proposed study emanates from a large ongoing epidemiological study on falls and fractures in the elderly (the FREE study). Falls and fractures are major problems in the elderly. This is the genesis for the FREEDOM (Falls Risk Epidemiology: Effect of vitamin D on skeletal Outcomes and other Measures) intervention study. The FREEDOM study will evaluate the effect of a public health strategy to reduce falls and fractures in older people living in residential care (namely appropriate sun light e ....The proposed study emanates from a large ongoing epidemiological study on falls and fractures in the elderly (the FREE study). Falls and fractures are major problems in the elderly. This is the genesis for the FREEDOM (Falls Risk Epidemiology: Effect of vitamin D on skeletal Outcomes and other Measures) intervention study. The FREEDOM study will evaluate the effect of a public health strategy to reduce falls and fractures in older people living in residential care (namely appropriate sun light exposure and calcium supplementation) in a randomised trial. The primary endpoints of this study will be reduction in falls and change in vitamin D levels. Other endpoints will be change in motor function, mood, bone turnover and fracture incidence. The proposed public health strategy to be examined is readily transferable to routine practice and would have very good feasibility for easy implementation and are generally applicable to the residential care setting, where the study will be conducted. Moreover the proposed approach would be low in cost and does not depend on other health system input. Potentially large numbers of people would benefit from the better understanding of simple methods of securing improved vitamin D status.Read moreRead less
METHODS - A Randomised Controlled Trial Of METhotrexate To Treat Hand Osteoarthritis With Synovitis
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$770,014.00
Summary
Hand osteoarthritis (OA) is common, but has no treatment. Almost 50% of people with hand OA will have joint swelling (synovitis). The hand joint of people with synovitis are 3.5 times more likely to experience joint destruction within as little as 2 years. Drugs used to treat synovitis may reduce pain and joint destruction. We propose that treating patients with symptomatic hand OA and synovitis with the anti-synovitis drug, methotrexate, will be a major medical advance.
A Randomised Controlled Trial Of Cognitive-only And Cognitive-motor Training To Prevent Falls In Older People: Understanding Physical, Neuropsychological And Neural Mechanisms
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,624,934.00
Summary
The rate of falls in older people remains a significant problem. We have developed and validated a home-based computerised training intervention that can be delivered either while seated (cognitive) or while standing and undertaking balance exercises (cognitive+motor). This unique design will allow us to assess whether cognitive and cognitive+motor training can prevent falls, as well as the neural, physiological, physical and neuropsychological mechanisms behind the intervention effects.
A Scalable Intervention For Increasing Vigorous Physical Activity Among Older Adolescents: The ‘ Burn To Learn ’ Cluster RCT
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$636,912.00
Summary
Physical inactivity has been described as a global pandemic and only 15% of Australian adolescents are sufficiently active. The pressure to perform in major school assessments drives many older adolescents to sacrifice physical activity to maximise academic performance. Our team has designed a time-efficient solution to increase physical activity in senior high school students using high intensity interval training which will be evaluated using a cluster randomised controlled trial.
Creating An Evidence Base For Balanced Sun Exposure Messages For Optimal Health
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$408,388.00
Summary
Both too much and too little sun exposure result in risks to health, but there are considerable uncertainties in our understanding of the detail, for both risks and benefits. This project focuses on key research gaps that need to be filled before a balanced sun exposure message, appropriate for Australians of different skin types and living in different locations, can be developed and disseminated.
The Effectiveness Of Social Dancing As A Strategy To Prevent Falls In Older People: A Cluster Randomised Controlled Trial
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$594,024.00
Summary
Exercise is an effective intervention to prevent falls by the elderly, particularly programs that included balance enhancement. Dance is a series of multi- directional coordinated rhythmic movements with additional mental and social components. This study will determine if participating in 12 months of social dancing is an effective option to prevent falls among the elderly, and whether dancing can improve the motor-cognitive risk factors for falling.
Reducing Falls By Improving Knowledge Translation: A Mixed-methods Study To Incorporate Falls Prevention Best-practice Evidence Into Osteoarthritis Care
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$88,502.00
Summary
Over 50% of people with osteoarthritis (OA) will fall. Resources exist to assist clinicians in the management of OA, but give little or no attention to falls.The association between OA and falls supports the need to incorporate falls prevention strategies into routine OA care. This project aims to reduce falls and fall-related harm in people with OA by creating a list of recommendations for preventing falls that can be incorporated into current OA resources and routine OA care.
Better prevention and management of disabling back pain. This project will establish a program of back pain research within an inter-disciplinary research centre focused on the prevention and management of physical disability.