Publications by authors named "Heath A"

Objective: To determine whether BMI differences observed at 5 years of age, from early intervention in infancy, remained apparent at 11 years.

Methods: Participants (n = 734) from the original randomized controlled trial (n = 802) underwent measures of body mass index (BMI), body composition (DXA), sleep and physical activity (24-h accelerometry, questionnaire), diet (repeated 24-h recalls), screen time (daily diaries), wellbeing (CHU-9D, WHO-5), and family functioning (McMaster FAD) around their 11th birthday. Following multiple imputation, regression models explored the effects of two interventions ('Sleep' vs.

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Background: Association between dietary factors and the risk of developing inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) has been studied extensively. However, identification of deleterious dietary patterns merits further study.

Aim: To investigate the risk of developing Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) according to the inflammatory score of the diet (ISD) in the multinational European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) cohort.

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Background/objectives: The biological basis for behavioral manifestations of Alzheimer's disease remains unclear. Emotional and behavioral alterations of Alzheimer's disease can result in substantial caregiver burden and lack effective management. This study expands upon previous work investigating behavioral alterations in mice with Alzheimer's disease and a potential treatment of increasing brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) using repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS).

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Background: We previously published the protocol and statistical analysis plan for a randomized controlled trial of Proportional Assist Ventilation for Minimizing the Duration of Mechanical Ventilation: the PROMIZING study in Trials ( https://doi.org/10.1186/s13063-023-07163-w ).

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Although studies have examined the association of the Relative Fat Mass (RFM, a novel anthropometric index used as a surrogate for whole-body fat percentage) with all-cause mortality, the association of RFM with diabetes-related mortality and heart disease mortality has not been thoroughly investigated. In addition, no study has compared the associations of RFM and waist circumference (a surrogate for intra-abdominal fat) with cause-specific mortality and all-cause mortality. In the present study, we addressed these knowledge gaps.

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The correct delineation of tick species is critical for efforts aimed at safeguarding One Health. Historically, the Asian turtle tick (Amblyomma geoemydae sensu lato) has been regarded as a geographically widespread species across much of Asia. However, based on morphological and phylogenomic data, the subtropical lineage (from Japan, Taiwan, and parts of China) of A.

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  • * The study focused on the relationship between long-term dietary mycotoxin exposure and hepatobiliary cancers in the EPIC cohort, using detailed food occurrence data to assess risks.
  • * Findings indicated a significant link between higher intake of the mycotoxin deoxynivalenol (DON) and hepatocellular carcinoma risk, suggesting further research is needed on mycotoxins and their potential health impacts.
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Background: Elevated body mass index (BMI) ≥25 kg/m is a major preventable cause of cancer. A single BMI measure does not capture the degree and duration of exposure to excess BMI. We investigate associations between adulthood overweight-years, incorporating exposure time to BMI ≥25 kg/m and cancer incidence, and compare this with single BMI.

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Health inequalities refer to systematic, unfair and avoidable differences in health across the population and between different groups in society. We reviewed health inequalities related to breast cancer to inform National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommendations. This was a pragmatic, targeted review to identify examples of health inequalities related to breast cancer in England.

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  • A study was conducted to create dietary recommendations for New Zealand toddlers aged 12-24 months, using linear and goal programming models to assess nutrient intake from various foods.
  • Data was collected from 188 toddlers on their dietary habits, resulting in recommendations that include specific servings for a variety of food groups, like non-sweet cereals, vegetables, fruits, and dairy.
  • The findings highlighted that while the recommendations support a balanced diet, the inclusion of approximately 500g of iron-fortified toddler milk is crucial to ensure adequate iron and folate intake for all toddlers.
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Morphological features of organismal body plans are often highly conserved within large taxa. For example, segmentation is a shared and defining feature of all insects. Screens in identified genes responsible for the development of body segments, including the "pair-rule" genes (PRGs), which subdivide embryos into double-segment units in a previously unexpected pre-patterning step.

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Background: Nutri-Score is a scientifically validated 5-color front-of-pack nutrition label reflecting the nutrient profile of foods. It has been implemented in several European countries on a voluntary basis, pending the revision of the European labeling regulation. Hence, scientific evidence is needed regarding the ability of the nutrient profile underlying the Nutri-Score (uNS-NPS, 2023-updated version) to characterize healthier foods.

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  • A study analyzed the link between different levels of food processing and the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, using data from the EPIC cohort involving nearly 312,000 participants over about 11 years.
  • The results showed that higher intake of ultra-processed foods (UPF) was significantly associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes, while unprocessed/minimally processed foods and processed foods were linked to a lower risk.
  • Sub-group analysis revealed specific types of UPF, like certain breads and plant-based alternatives, that, surprisingly, were associated with a reduced risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
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Aims/hypothesis: The aim of the present study was to investigate the association between dietary exposures to dioxins, dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (DL-PCBs) and non-dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (NDL-PCBs) and the incidence of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) cohort.

Methods: This prospective cohort study with a median 11.7 years of follow-up, included 318,416 individuals recruited in 21 centers in eight countries.

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Experimental research has uncovered lipocalin 2 (LCN2) as a novel biomarker implicated in the modulation of intestinal inflammation, metabolic homeostasis, and colon carcinogenesis. However, evidence from human research has been scant. We, therefore, explored the association of pre-diagnostic circulating LCN2 concentrations with incident colorectal cancer (CRC) in a nested case-control study within the in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) cohort.

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Background: Metabolic reprogramming is one of the hallmarks of cancer, and in breast cancer (BC), several metabolic enzymes are overexpressed and overactivated. One of these, Enolase 1 (ENO1), catalyses glycolysis and is involved in the regulation of multiple signalling pathways.

Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate in silico the prognostic and predictive effects of ENO1 expression in BC.

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Unlabelled: Recent epidemiological studies have suggested a positive association between ultra-processed food consumption and breast cancer risk, although some studies also reported no association. Furthermore, the evidence regarding the associations between intake of food with lower degrees of processing and breast cancer risk is limited. Thus, we investigated the associations between dietary intake by degree of food processing and breast cancer risk, overall and by breast cancer subtypes in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study.

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The prevalence of food allergies in New Zealand infants is uncertain but is believed to be similar to Australia, exceeding 10%. Current recommendations for reducing food allergy risk are to offer all major food allergens to infants from as early as six months of age (start of complementary feeding), and before 12 months of age. However, little is known regarding parental practices around introducing major food allergens.

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  • Whole genome sequencing (WGS) helps identify rare genetic variants that may explain the missing heritability of coronary artery disease (CAD) by analyzing 4,949 cases and 17,494 controls from the NHLBI TOPMed program.
  • The study estimates that the heritability of CAD is around 34.3%, with ultra-rare variants contributing about 50%, especially those with low linkage disequilibrium.
  • Functional annotations show significant enrichment of CAD heritability, highlighting the importance of ultra-rare variants and specific regulatory mechanisms in different cells as major factors influencing genetic risk for the disease.
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  • Adaptive designs (ADs) in clinical trials make the testing process more flexible and can save time and money.
  • Many people in the medical field don’t fully understand how these designs work, so a review has been done to explain their use in research.
  • The study looked at a lot of research reports from 2010 to 2020 and found that most ADs were used in trials for adults, especially for cancer treatments, with a smaller number for children.
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  • The study investigated the links between saturated and unsaturated fatty acids and cardiovascular disease (CVD), focusing on conditions like coronary heart disease (CHD) and stroke in a large group of participants.
  • Results showed that higher levels of saturated fatty acids were linked to increased CVD risks, with specific subtypes having varying effects on CHD and stroke.
  • Conversely, higher concentrations of certain polyunsaturated fatty acids (both n-3 and n-6 types) were associated with lower risks of CHD and stroke, suggesting dietary fats play a significant role in cardiovascular health.
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Alzheimer's disease is associated with a loss of plasticity and cognitive functioning. Previous research has shown that repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) boosts cortical neurotrophic factors, potentially addressing this loss. The current study aimed to expand these findings by measuring brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), its downstream hippocampal signaling molecules, and behavioral effects of rTMS on the 3xTg-AD mouse line.

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  • Inflammation plays a significant role in breast cancer progression and prognosis, particularly through pre-diagnostic plasma biomarkers in women.
  • A study involving 1,538 women showed that elevated levels of the inflammatory marker IL-6 were linked to increased risks of all-cause and breast cancer-specific mortality, especially in postmenopausal women.
  • Higher levels of IL-10 and TNFα were also associated with all-cause mortality, and an inflammatory score could indicate poorer long-term survival, particularly in postmenopausal breast cancer survivors.
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