Both a larger waist and narrow hips are associated with heightened risk of diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and premature mortality. We review the risk of these outcomes for levels of waist and hip circumferences when terms for both anthropometric measures were included in regression models. MEDLINE and EMBASE were searched (last updated July 2012) for studies reporting the association with th...

BACKGROUND: A significant proportion of individuals taking antihypertensive therapies fail to achieve blood pressures <140/90 mmHg. In order to develop strategies for improved treatment of blood pressure, we examined the association of blood pressure control with antihypertensive therapies and clinical and lifestyle factors in a cohort of adults at increased cardiovascular risk. METHODS: A cro...

BACKGROUND: Acute rheumatic fever (ARF) and rheumatic heart disease (RHD) contribute to Aboriginal Australian and Torres Strait Islander health disadvantage. At the time of this study, specialist ARF/RHD care in the Kimberley region of Western Australia was delivered by a broad range of providers. In contrast, in Far North Queensland (FNQ), a single-provider model was used as part of a coordin...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the impact of a chronic lung disease management training programme, Breathe Easy Walk Easy (BEWE), for rural and remote health-care practitioners. METHODS: Quasi-experimental, before and after repeated measures design. Health-care practitioners (n = 33) from various professional backgrounds who attended the BEWE training workshop were eligible to partici...

AIM: Mouse chow is commonly high in advanced glycation end-products, known contributors to diabetic nephropathy. The aim of this study was to evaluate if targeting of the AGE-RAGE axis was still effective in the context of a diet low in AGE content, which is more comparable to diets consumed by individuals with type 1 diabetes. METHODS: C57BL/6J wild-type and mice deficient in the receptor for...

AIMS: IL-13 is implicated as an important mediator of the pathology of asthma. This first clinical study with GSK679586, a novel humanized anti-IL-13 IgG1 monoclonal antibody, evaluated the safety, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of escalating single and repeat doses of GSK679586. METHODS: In this randomized, double-blind study, healthy subjects received single intravenous infusions of...

BACKGROUND: It has long been established that cardiotoxicity occurs as a result of exposure to certain chemotherapeutics, particularly anthracyclines. Historically, clinicians equate cardiotoxicity with a poor prognosis, in a small percentage of patients and deem long-term surveillance as optional. Emerging evidence suggests that anthracycline cardiotoxicity (ACT) is a life-long risk with an...

BACKGROUND: Methamphetamine abuse is a growing public health problem, and increasing numbers of patients are admitted with methamphetamine-associated cardiomyopathy (MAC). AIM: We sought to characterise the patterns of this disease and identify predictors of recovery. METHODS: We retrospectively studied consecutive patients diagnosed with MAC between January 2006 and July 2015. RESU...

BACKGROUND: Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is the most common monogenic cardiac condition, with a range of investigation and management options available. Recent research has recommended management within multidisciplinary-dedicated HCM centres. AIM: To assess the clinical impact of attendance at a specialised clinic on the management of HCM. METHODS: A retrospective study of pati...

BACKGROUND: Healthcare professional (HCP) time supporting insulin pump therapy (IPT) has not been documented, yet it is important in planning and allocating resources for effective care. AIM: This study aims to determine HCP time spent in IPT patient care to inform resource planning for optimal IPT delivery. METHODS: Twenty-four Australian adult IPT-experienced institutions (14 gover...

BACKGROUND: Despite acute gout frequently complicating hospital admissions, diagnosis and management are variable. Rheumatology input may improve patient outcomes. AIM: To examine acute episodes of inpatient gout in a tertiary hospital to determine (i) factors that may lead to rheumatology input being sought and (ii) the differences in outcomes when rheumatology input occurs. METHODS: Data...

BACKGROUND: Weight gain and hypoglycaemia are common adverse effects associated with anti-diabetic treatments. AIM: Our aim was to evaluate the long-term effects of adjunctive exenatide therapy on weight loss and glycaemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes. METHODS: A review of medical records in a specialist diabetes clinic over 5 years identified 446 patients who were prescribed e...

No published data exist following the changes in lipid profile during and after an episode of acute illness for the Australian Indigenous population. This paper presents data focusing on lipid profiles and inflammatory markers in a group of survivors of critical illness in Central Australia, prospectively recruited to a larger trial exploring the medium-term sequelae of an intensive care unit a...

OBJECTIVE: Investigate associations of TV viewing time and accelerometry-derived sedentary time with inflammatory and endothelial function biomarkers in children. METHODS: Cross-sectional analysis of 164 7-10-year-old children. TV viewing time was assessed by parental proxy report and total and patterns of sedentary time accumulation (e.g. prolonged bouts) were assessed by accelerometry....

AIM: Social participation provides health benefits for older adults. However, there is the need to identify whether higher social participation is associated with older adults being more physically active and less sedentary (sitting time). We examined the associations of social participation with physical activity, and sedentary time, in a population-based sample of older Japanese adults. M...

INTRODUCTION: We aimed to determine the accuracy of the echocardiographic assessment of cardiac index (CI) in subjects with preserved left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF). METHODS: Thirty-three subjects with LVEF >50%, normal sinus rhythm, and a broad spectrum of hemodynamic profiles underwent echocardiography immediately followed by right heart catheterization. As gold standards, CI wa...

Financial hardship may affect up to 30% of cancer survivors, however, little research has addressed the effect of employment change on financial hardship. This study compared the self-reported financial hardship of middle-aged (45-64 years) colorectal cancer survivors (n = 187) at 6 and 12 months following diagnosis with that of a matched general population group (n = 355). Colorectal cancer su...

AIMS: The MARLINA-T2D study (ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT01792518) was designed to investigate the glycaemic and renal effects of linagliptin added to standard-of-care in individuals with type 2 diabetes and albuminuria. METHODS: A total of 360 individuals with type 2 diabetes, HbA1c 6.5% to 10.0% (48-86 mmol/mol), estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) ≥30 mL/min/1.73 m2 and urinary alb...

The range of glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) responses and characteristics associated with above-average response to exenatide twice daily and once weekly were examined. Data were pooled from 8 exenatide-twice-daily and 5 exenatide-once-weekly studies. A baseline HbA1c-corrected measure of change in HbA1c after 24 weeks identified high, average and low responses. Multiple linear regression and mul...

AIM: To determine the effect of Scriptaid, a compound that can replicate aspects of the exercise adaptive response through disruption of the class IIa histone deacetylase (HDAC) corepressor complex, on muscle insulin action in obesity. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Diet-induced obese mice were administered Scriptaid (1 mg/kg) via daily intraperitoneal injection for 4 weeks. Whole-body and skele...