Social inequities in early childhood caries in Australia: A population-based study on statewide public dental services data.

Background: Social disadvantage leads to dental caries during childhood.

Aim: This study investigated whether dental caries occur earlier in children from households experiencing social disadvantage than those not experiencing social disadvantage.

Design: The overall risk of, and relative time to, early childhood caries (ECC) according to sociodemographic characteristics in Victoria, Australia, was quantified.

The effect of three years of vitamin D supplementation on erectile dysfunction: Results from the randomized placebo-controlled D-Health Trial.

Background & Aims: Erectile dysfunction is common among older men and has been associated with low serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D concentration. However, this association may be due to uncontrolled confounding, and there is a paucity of evidence from interventional studies. We aimed to examine the effect of vitamin D supplementation on the prevalence of erectile dysfunction, in an exploratory analysis using data from a large randomized controlled trial.

Sex-steroid hormones and risk of postmenopausal estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer: a case-cohort analysis.

Purpose: Sex-steroid hormones are associated with postmenopausal breast cancer but potential confounding from other biological pathways is rarely considered. We estimated risk ratios for sex-steroid hormone biomarkers in relation to postmenopausal estrogen receptor (ER)-positive breast cancer, while accounting for biomarkers from insulin/insulin-like growth factor-signaling and inflammatory pathways.

Methods: This analysis included 1208 women from a case-cohort study of postmenopausal breast cancer within the Melbourne Collaborative Cohort Study.

Biased effects of pre-diagnostic physical activity on breast cancer survival: Systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Pre-diagnostic physical activity is reported to improve survival for women with breast cancer. However, studies of pre-diagnostic exposures and cancer survival are susceptible to bias, made clear when applying a target trial framework. We investigated the impact of selection bias, immortal time bias, confounding and bias due to inappropriate adjustment for post-exposure variables in a systematic review and meta-analysis of pre-diagnostic physical activity and survival after breast cancer.

Sunlight, vitamin D, vitamin D receptor polymorphisms, and risk of multiple myeloma: A systematic review.

This systematic review examines the relationship with multiple myeloma (MM) risk for sunlight and vitamin D related exposures, including vitamin D supplementation, circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration, personal ultraviolet B radiation exposure, ambient solar irradiance and vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene polymorphisms We conducted a search for terms related to multiple myeloma, vitamin D, vitamin D receptor, ultraviolet radiation, sunlight, and single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) using Ovid MEDLINE, Ovid EMBASE, Web of Science and Cochrane CENTRAL. Studies were assessed for risk of bias and quality using the RoB 2.0, ROBINS-E or Q-Genie tools.

National Health and Medical Research Council statement on electronic cigarettes: 2022 update.

Introduction: Electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) use in Australia has rapidly increased since the 2017 National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) statement on e-cigarettes. The type of products available and the demographic characteristics of people using these products have changed. New evidence has been published and there is growing concern among public health professionals about the increased use, particularly among young people who do not currently smoke combustible cigarettes.

Sex-steroid hormones and risk of postmenopausal estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer: a case-cohort analysis.

Purpose: Sex-steroid hormones are associated with postmenopausal breast cancer but potential confounding from other biological pathways is rarely considered. We estimated risk ratios for sex-steroid hormone biomarkers in relation to postmenopausal estrogen receptor (ER)-positive breast cancer, while accounting for biomarkers from insulin/insulin-like growth factor-signaling and inflammatory pathways.

Methods: This analysis included 1,208 women from a case-cohort study of postmenopausal breast cancer within the Melbourne Collaborative Cohort Study.

Do age at diagnosis, tumour thickness and tumour site explain sex differences in melanoma survival? A causal mediation analysis using cancer registry data.

Women diagnosed with melanoma have better survival than men, but little is known about potential intervention targets to reduce this survival gap by sex. We conducted a population-based study using Victorian Cancer Registry data including 5833 women and 6780 men aged 15 to 70 years when diagnosed with first primary melanoma between 2007 and 2015. Deaths to the end of 2020 were identified through linkage to the Victorian and national death registries.

The Effect of Vitamin D Supplementation on Hypothyroidism in the Randomized Controlled D-Health Trial.

Hypothyroidism is common, and in iodine-sufficient areas, it is primarily caused by autoimmune destruction of the thyroid gland. Observational studies have consistently shown an inverse association between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration and autoimmune diseases; however, there is a lack of evidence from randomized controlled trials to support a benefit of vitamin D supplementation, particularly for autoimmune thyroid diseases. We, therefore, aimed to assess the effect of vitamin D supplementation on the incidence of hypothyroidism.

Modifiable lifestyle risk factors and survival after diagnosis with multiple myeloma.

Background: While remaining incurable, median overall survival for MM now exceeds 5 years. Yet few studies have investigated how modifiable lifestyle factors influence survival. We investigate whether adiposity, diet, alcohol, or smoking are associated with MM-related fatality.

Benefits and harms of breast cancer screening: Cohort study of breast cancer mortality and overdiagnosis.

Background: Quantifying the benefits and harms of breast cancer screening accurately is important for planning and evaluating screening programs and for enabling women to make informed decisions about participation. However, few cohort studies have attempted to estimate benefit and harm simultaneously.

Aims: We aimed to quantify the impact of mammographic screening on breast cancer mortality and overdiagnosis using a cohort of women invited to attend Australia's national screening program, BreastScreen.

Sustained Hypothetical Interventions on Midlife Alcohol Consumption in Relation to All-Cause and Cancer Mortality: The Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health.

No randomized controlled trial has evaluated the effect of long-term alcohol interventions on mortality. Results reported in existing observational studies may be subject to selection bias and time-varying confounding. Using data from the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health 1946-1951 birth cohort, collected regularly from 1996-2016, we estimated all-cause and cancer mortality had women been assigned various alcohol interventions (in categories ranging from 0 to >30 g/day ethanol, or reduced to ≤20 g/day if higher) at baseline, and had they maintained these levels of consumption.

Vitamin D supplementation and major cardiovascular events: D-Health randomised controlled trial.

Objective: To investigate whether supplementing older adults with monthly doses of vitamin D alters the incidence of major cardiovascular events.

Design: Randomised, double blind, placebo controlled trial of monthly vitamin D (the D-Health Trial). Computer generated permuted block randomisation was used to allocate treatments.

The effect of vitamin D supplementation on the gut microbiome in older Australians - Results from analyses of the D-Health Trial.

Observational studies suggest a link between vitamin D and the composition of the gut microbiome, but there is little evidence from randomized controlled trials of vitamin D supplementation. We analyzed data from the D-Health Trial, a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. We recruited 21,315 Australians aged 60-84 y and randomized them to 60,000 IU of vitamin D or placebo monthly for 5 y.

The effect of monthly vitamin D supplementation on fractures: a tertiary outcome from the population-based, double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled D-Health trial.

Background: Low serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D concentration is associated with increased fracture risk. It is uncertain whether vitamin D supplementation reduces fractures, or whether intermittent doses are harmful. We aimed to investigate if supplementing adults living in Australia with monthly doses of 60 000 international units (IU) vitamin D for 5 years or less altered the rate of fractures.

Methylation scores for smoking, alcohol consumption and body mass index and risk of seven types of cancer.

Methylation marks of exposure to health risk factors may be useful markers of cancer risk as they might better capture current and past exposures than questionnaires, and reflect different individual responses to exposure. We used data from seven case-control studies nested within the Melbourne Collaborative Cohort Study of blood DNA methylation and risk of colorectal, gastric, kidney, lung, prostate and urothelial cancer, and B-cell lymphoma (N cases = 3123). Methylation scores (MS) for smoking, body mass index (BMI), and alcohol consumption were calculated based on published data as weighted averages of methylation values.

Linking Physical Activity to Breast Cancer via Inflammation, Part 2: The Effect of Inflammation on Breast Cancer Risk.

This review synthesized and appraised the evidence for an effect of inflammation on breast cancer risk. Systematic searches identified prospective cohort and Mendelian randomization studies relevant to this review. Meta-analysis of 13 biomarkers of inflammation were conducted to appraise the evidence for an effect breast cancer risk; we examined the dose-response of these associations.

Linking Physical Activity to Breast Cancer Risk via Inflammation, Part 1: The Effect of Physical Activity on Inflammation.

The protective effect of physical activity on breast cancer incidence may partially be mediated by inflammation. Systematic searches of Medline, EMBASE, and SPORTDiscus were performed to identify intervention studies, Mendelian randomization studies, and prospective cohort studies that examined the effects of physical activity on circulating inflammatory biomarkers in adult women. Meta-analyses were performed to generate effect estimates.

Vitamin D supplementation and hospitalization for infection in older adults: A post-hoc analysis of data from the Australian D-Health Trial.

Background: Evidence suggests that vitamin D influences the immune system. Recent studies indicate that vitamin D supplementation may reduce the severity of infections, but this has not been confirmed.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to assess the effect of vitamin D supplementation on hospitalization for infection.

Vitamin D supplementation and cognition-Results from analyses of the D-Health trial.

Background: Observational studies have consistently found a link between low serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration and higher risk of cognitive impairment. Results from randomized controlled trials have been mixed, and few have been conducted in the general population.

Methods: We recruited 21,315 community-dwelling Australians aged between 60 and 84 years to participate in the D-Health Trial, a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.

Linking Physical Activity to Breast Cancer Risk via Insulin/Insulin-Like Growth Factor Signaling System, Part 1: The Effect of Physical Activity on the Insulin/Insulin-Like Growth Factor Signaling System.

Physical activity may reduce the risk of developing breast cancer via its effect on the insulin/insulin-like growth factor (IGF) signaling system. A systematic review searched for randomized controlled trials (RCT), Mendelian randomization and prospective cohort studies that examined the effects of physical activity on insulin/IGF signaling [IGFs, their binding proteins (IGFBP), and markers of insulin resistance] in adult women. Meta-analyses were performed to generate effect estimates.