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Mounting epidemiological evidence suggests an association between prenatal tobacco exposure and an increased risk of tobacco smoking in offspring. However, it is uncertain whether the association is due to the intrauterine or shared environmental exposures. Study participants were from the Raine Study, a prospective birth cohort study based in Perth, Western Australia (N = 2730). Tobacco smoking in adolescents, at age 17 years, was measured using a self-reported questionnaire. Log-binomial regression was used to estimate the relative risks (RRs) of tobacco smoking in offspring exposed to maternal prenatal tobacco use during the first and third trimesters of pregnancy. We have also calculated the E-values to investigate the potential effect of unmeasured confounding. Paternal smoking during pregnancy was used as a negative control for comparison.

Research

Altered maternal haemoglobin levels during pregnancy are associated with pre-clinical and clinical conditions affecting the fetus. Evidence from animal models suggests that these associations may be partially explained by differential DNA methylation in the newborn with possible long-term consequences. To test this in humans, we meta-analyzed the epigenome-wide associations of maternal haemoglobin levels during pregnancy with offspring DNA methylation in 3,967 newborn cord blood and 1,534 children and 1,962 adolescent whole-blood samples derived from 10 cohorts.

Research

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in massive global disruptions with considerable impact on the delivery of health services and national health programmes. Since the detection of the first COVID-19 case on 5th March 2020, the Royal Government of Bhutan implemented a number of containment measures including border closure and national lockdowns. Against the backdrop of this global COVID-19 pandemic response, there was a sudden surge of locally-transmitted malaria cases between June to August 2020.

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There are limited studies on the risk of depressive symptoms in adolescent offspring exposed to parental mental health problems in middle childhood. We investigated the association between parental mental health problems, particularly paternal emotional problems and maternal symptoms of anxiety and depression, and the risk of depressive symptoms in adolescent offspring aged 17.

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We have quantified the relative influence of perinatal risk factors associated with skin infection hospitalisations in WA children

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Social emotional development is imperative to young children's long-term psychological and physical health. Physical activity (PA) may be important for young children's social emotional development. The association between preschooler PA duration and intensity and social emotional development was investigated.

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Although genetic and epidemiological evidence indicates vitamin D insufficiency contributes to multiple sclerosis (MS), and serum levels of vitamin D increase on treatment with cholecalciferol, recent metanalyses indicate that this vitamin D form does not ameliorate disease. Genetic variation in genes regulating vitamin D, and regulated by vitamin D, affect MS risk.

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An estimated 14 million cases of Plasmodium vivax malaria were reported from Asia, Central and South America, and the Horn of Africa. The clinical burden of vivax malaria is largely driven by its ability to form dormant liver stages (hypnozoites) that can reactivate to cause recurrent episodes of malaria. Elimination of both the blood and liver stages of the parasites ("radical cure") is required to achieve a sustained clinical response and prevent ongoing transmission of the parasite.

Research

Alexander Larcombe BScEnv (Hons) PhD Head, Respiratory Environmental Health Team Leader, Respiratory Environmental Health Associate Professor

Research

We surveyed 2200 potentially eligible titles on PubMed and other common search engines for manuscripts on “exercise, nutrition, and diabetes” published between July 1, 2019, and June 30, 2020. This year's articles tended to focus on testing new applications for exercise management, including new insulin treatment approaches, wearables, and new smartphone applications.