A Prototype Software Framework for Transferable Computational Health Economic Models and Its Early Application in Youth Mental Health.

We are developing an economic model to explore multiple topics in Australian youth mental health policy. To help make that model more readily transferable to other jurisdictions, we developed a software framework for authoring modular computational health economic models (CHEMs) (the software files that implement health economic models). We specified framework user requirements for: a simple programming syntax; a template CHEM module; tools for authoring new CHEM modules; search tools for finding existing CHEM modules; tools for supplying CHEM modules with data; reproducible analysis and reporting tools; and tools to help maintain a CHEM project website.

Initial Implementation of the My Heart, My Life Program by the National Heart Foundation of Australia: Pilot Mixed Methods Evaluation Study.

Background: Coronary heart disease (CHD) remains the leading cause of death in Australia, with a high residual risk of repeat events in survivors. Secondary prevention therapy is crucial for reducing the risk of both death and other major adverse cardiac events. The National Heart Foundation of Australia has developed a consumer-facing support program called My Heart, My Life (MHML) to address the gap in the secondary prevention of CHD in Australia.

Health-Enhancing Physical Activity in Europe-Combined Aerobic Physical Activity and Muscle-Strengthening Exercise Guideline Adherence Among 280,605 Adults From 28 European Countries.

Background: Compared with engaging in aerobic physical activity (aerobic PA; eg, walking, running, cycling) or muscle-strengthening exercise (MSE; eg, weight/resistance training) alone, epidemiological evidence suggests that combining both is linked to better health. However, the assessment of both PA modes is rare in health surveillance. This article provides the first multicountry study on the descriptive epidemiology of combined moderate to vigorous PA-MSE guideline adherence.

The epidemiology of muscle-strengthening exercise in Europe: A 28-country comparison including 280,605 adults.

Objective: Muscle-strengthening exercise (use of weight machines, free weights, push-ups, sit-ups), has multiple independent health benefits, and is a component of the Global physical activity guidelines. However, there is currently a lack of multi-country muscle-strengthening exercise prevalence studies. This study describes the prevalence and correlates of muscle-strengthening exercise across multiple European countries.

Correlates of walking among disadvantaged groups: A systematic review.

Socioeconomically disadvantaged groups are less likely to be physically active. Walking is important to public health, therefore understanding correlates of walking will inform the development of targeted interventions. The aim of this systematic review was to examine the correlates of walking among socioeconomically disadvantaged adults.

Correlates of Physical Activity Among Disadvantaged Groups: A Systematic Review.

Context: Socioeconomically disadvantaged adults have lower engagement in leisure-time physical activity than those who are more affluent. Identification of correlates of physical activity can inform the design of effective interventions. The aim of this systematic review was to identify consistent correlates of unspecified physical activity and leisure-time physical activity among socioeconomically disadvantaged adults.

Muscle-Strengthening Exercise Among 397,423 U.S. Adults: Prevalence, Correlates, and Associations With Health Conditions.

Introduction: Although muscle-strengthening exercise has multiple independent health benefits, little is known about muscle-strengthening exercise participation and associations with adverse health conditions among U.S. adults.

Equity of a government subsidised exercise referral scheme: A population study.

Background: Health inequities could increase if utilisation of physical activity interventions is lower among socioeconomically disadvantaged groups. We examined associations between area level socioeconomic disadvantage and utilisation of Australian government-subsidised, general practitioner (GP)-referred, accredited exercise physiologist (AEPs) services.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of Australian Medical Benefits Scheme (MBS) data (N = 228,771 AEP services) for the 2015-2016 financial year and aggregated publicly available data from several sources.

Economic evaluation of a randomized controlled trial of an intervention to reduce office workers' sitting time: the "Stand Up Victoria" trial.

Objectives This study aimed to assess the economic credentials of a workplace-delivered intervention to reduce sitting time among desk-based workers. Methods We performed within-trial cost-efficacy analysis and long-term cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) and recruited 231 desk-based workers, aged 24-65 years, across 14 worksites of one organization. Multicomponent workplace-delivered intervention was compared to usual practice.

Feasibility for the Use of a Standardized Fitness Testing Protocol Among Australian Fitness Industry Professionals.

Purpose: There is currently no standardized testing protocol for assessing clients' fitness/health within the Australian fitness industry. This study examined the perceptions of the feasibility of using a standardized testing protocol among Australian fitness industry professionals.

Method: In 2014, 1,206 registered fitness industry professionals (aged 17-69 years) completed an online survey.

Corrigendum to "Office workers' objectively assessed total and prolonged sitting time: Individual-level correlates and worksite variations" [Prev. Med. Rep. 4 (2016) 184-191].

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1016/j.pmedr.

Interventions to improve physical activity among socioeconomically disadvantaged groups: an umbrella review.

Background: People from socioeconomically disadvantaged population groups are less likely to be physically active and more likely to experience adverse health outcomes than those who are less disadvantaged. In this umbrella review we examined across all age groups, (1) the effectiveness of interventions to improve physical activity among socioeconomically disadvantaged groups, (2) the characteristics of effective interventions, and (3) directions for future research.

Methods: PubMed/MEDLINE and Scopus were searched up to May 2017 to identify systematic reviews reporting physical activity interventions in socioeconomically disadvantaged populations or sub-groups.

Effectiveness of interventions for reducing non-occupational sedentary behaviour in adults and older adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: No systematic reviews of the effectiveness of interventions for reducing non-occupational sedentary behaviour are available. Therefore, the aim of this systematic review was to assess the effectiveness of interventions for reducing non-occupational sedentary behaviour in adults and older adults.

Methods: An electronic search of nine databases was performed.

Assessment and monitoring practices of Australian fitness professionals.

Objectives: Assessment and monitoring of client health and fitness is a key part of fitness professionals' practices. However, little is known about prevalence of this practice. This study describes the assessment/monitoring practices of a large sample of Australian fitness professionals.

Screen Time, Other Sedentary Behaviours, and Obesity Risk in Adults: A Review of Reviews.

Purpose Of Review: The aim of this paper is to assess the association between sedentary behaviours, including screen time, and risk of obesity in adults. A review of 10 systematic reviews was undertaken.

Recent Findings: Available evidence is generally not supportive of associations between sedentary behaviour and obesity in adults.

Sources of practice knowledge among Australian fitness trainers.

Few studies have examined the sources of practice knowledge fitness trainers use to inform their training methods and update knowledge. This study aims to describe sources of practice knowledge among Australian fitness trainers. In July 2014, 9100 Australian fitness trainers were invited to complete an online survey.

Sedentary behaviour and adiposity in youth: a systematic review of reviews and analysis of causality.

Background: Sedentary behaviour (sitting time) has becoming a very popular topic for research and translation since early studies on TV viewing in children in the 1980s. The most studied area for sedentary behaviour health outcomes has been adiposity in young people. However, the literature is replete with inconsistencies.

A Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial to Reduce Office Workers' Sitting Time: Effect on Activity Outcomes.

Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the initial and long-term effectiveness of a workplace intervention compared with usual practice, targeting the reduction of sitting on activity outcomes.

Methods: Office worksites (≥1 km apart) from a single organization in Victoria, Australia, were cluster randomized to intervention (n = 7) or control (n = 7). Participants were 231 desk-based office workers (5-39 participants per worksite) working at least 0.

Office workers' objectively assessed total and prolonged sitting time: Individual-level correlates and worksite variations.

Sedentary behavior is highly prevalent in office-based workplaces; however, few studies have assessed the attributes associated with this health risk factor in the workplace setting. This study aimed to identify the correlates of office workers' objectively-assessed total and prolonged (≥ 30 min bouts) workplace sitting time. Participants were 231 Australian office workers recruited from 14 sites of a single government employer in 2012-13.

Reducing office workers' sitting time: rationale and study design for the Stand Up Victoria cluster randomized trial.

Background: Excessive time spent in sedentary behaviours (sitting or lying with low energy expenditure) is associated with an increased risk for type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and some cancers. Desk-based office workers typically accumulate high amounts of daily sitting time, often in prolonged unbroken bouts. The Stand Up Victoria study aims to determine whether a 3-month multi-component intervention in the office setting reduces workplace sitting, particularly prolonged, unbroken sitting time, and results in improvements in cardio-metabolic biomarkers and work-related outcomes, compared to usual practice.

Reducing sitting time in office workers: short-term efficacy of a multicomponent intervention.

Objective: To investigate the short-term efficacy of a multicomponent intervention to reduce office workers' sitting time.

Methods: Allocation for this non-randomized controlled trial (n=43 participants; 56% women; 26-62 years; Melbourne, Australia) was by office floor, with data collected during July-September 2011. The 4-week intervention emphasized three key messages: "Stand Up, Sit Less, Move More" and comprised organizational, environmental, and individual elements.

Elevated brain serotonin turnover in patients with depression: effect of genotype and therapy.

Context: The biological basis for the development of major depressive disorder (MDD) remains incompletely understood.

Objective: To quantify brain serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine [5-HT]) turnover in patients with MDD.

Design: Patients with depression were studied both untreated and during administration of a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) in an unblinded study of sequential design.

Increased brain serotonin turnover in panic disorder patients in the absence of a panic attack: reduction by a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor.

Since the brain neurotransmitter changes characterising panic disorder remain uncertain, we quantified brain noradrenaline and serotonin turnover in patients with panic disorder, in the absence of a panic attack. Thirty-four untreated patients with panic disorder and 24 matched healthy volunteers were studied. A novel method utilising internal jugular venous sampling, with thermodilution measurement of jugular blood flow, was used to directly quantify brain monoamine turnover, by measuring the overflow of noradrenaline and serotonin metabolites from the brain.

Increased expression of the adipokine genes resistin and fasting-induced adipose factor in hypoxic/ischaemic mouse brain.

Adipose tissue is the primary source of the adipokines resistin and fasting-induced adipose factor (FIAF). We reported that the brain is also a site of adipokine expression, although their function there is unknown. Peripheral resistin and fasting-induced adipose factor are reported to be inflammatory markers, and we hypothesized that they would be induced in the brain by hypoxia/ischaemia.