Longitudinal Trajectories of Dental Attendance in Australian Adults.

Understanding how dental attendance evolves throughout life can inform targeted preventive health care policies by identifying key moments when people are more or less likely to seek dental care. Trajectory modeling of age and time trajectories takes a life course approach to understanding dental attendance, offering insights into both developmental perspectives (e.g.

Effect of Becoming Unemployed on Affordability of Oral Health Care among Australian Adults.

Introduction: Oral health care impacts of unemployment are not well understood. This is particularly important as many people, even in high-income countries, lack publicly funded oral health care, creating a financial burden for working-age individuals. This study aims to investigate the short-term effect of becoming unemployed on affordability of oral health care among working-age Australian adults.

TARGET Protein: the effect of augmented administration of enteral protein to critically ill adults on clinical outcomes-statistical analysis plan for a cluster randomized, cross-sectional, double cross-over, clinical trial.

Background: The TARGET Protein trial will evaluate the effect of greater enteral protein delivery (augmented protein) on clinical outcomes of critically ill adult patients when compared to usual care.

Objective: To describe the statistical analysis plan for the TARGET Protein trial.

Methods: TARGET Protein is a cluster randomized, cross-sectional, double cross-over, open-label, registry-embedded, pragmatic clinical trial conducted across Australia and New Zealand.

Interrupted time series datasets from studies investigating the impact of interventions or exposures in public health and social science: a data note.

Objectives: The interrupted time series (ITS) design is commonly used to investigate the impact of an intervention or exposure in public health. There are many statistical methods that can be used to analyse ITS data and to meta-analyse their results. We undertook two empirical studies to investigate: (i) how effect estimates (and associated statistics) compared when six statistical methods were applied to 190 real-world datasets; and (ii) how meta-analysis effect estimates (and associated statistics) compared when the combinations of two ITS analysis methods and five meta-analysis methods were applied to 17 real-world meta-analyses including 283 ITS datasets.

Insulin and insulin-like growth factor and risk of postmenopausal estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer: a case-cohort analysis.

Background: Higher concentration of insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) increases postmenopausal breast cancer risk, but evidence for insulin and c-peptide is limited. Further, not all studies have accounted for potential confounding by biomarkers from other biological pathways, and not all were restricted to estrogen receptor (ER)-positive breast cancer.

Methods: This was a case-cohort study of 1,223 postmenopausal women (347 with ER-positive breast cancer) from the Melbourne Collaborative Cohort Study.

Outcomes for older patients with subarachnoid haemorrhage who require admission to an Australian intensive care unit.

Background: Advanced age is an independent risk factor for poor outcomes following aneurysmal subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH). However, Australian data are lacking. Our aim was to evaluate outcomes for older patients admitted to an Australian intensive care unit for management of aneurysmal SAH.

The Banksia plot: a method for visually comparing point estimates and confidence intervals across datasets.

Objectives: In research evaluating statistical analysis methods, a common aim is to compare point estimates and CIs calculated from different analyses. This can be challenging when the outcomes (and their scale ranges) differ across datasets. We therefore developed a graphical method, the "Banksia plot", to facilitate pairwise comparisons of different statistical analysis methods by plotting and comparing point estimates and CIs from each analysis method, both within and across datasets.

Comparing the effectiveness, safety and tolerability of interventions for depressive symptoms in people with multiple sclerosis: A systematic review.

Background: Depression is more common in people with multiple sclerosis (MS) compared to the general population. While many interventions are available for treating depressive symptoms in people with MS, it is unclear how different intervention modalities compare. This systematic review aimed to compare the reported effectiveness, safety, and tolerability of interventions for treating depressive symptoms in people with MS.

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.

Practitioners support and intention to adopt universal access to self-collection in Australia's National Cervical Screening Program.

Objective: Primary care practitioners are crucial to engaging people in Australia's national cervical screening program. From July 2022, practitioners have been able to offer all screen-eligible people the choice to collect their own self-collected sample; an option introduced to increase equity. This study explored how practitioners are intending to incorporate universal access to self-collection into their clinical care.

A Randomized Noninferiority Trial to Compare Enteral to Parenteral Phosphate Replacement on Biochemistry, Waste, and Environmental Impact and Healthcare Cost in Critically Ill Patients With Mild to Moderate Hypophosphatemia.

Objectives: Hypophosphatemia occurs frequently. Enteral, rather than IV, phosphate replacement may reduce fluid replacement, cost, and waste.

Design: Prospective, randomized, parallel group, noninferiority clinical trial.

Plasma beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate availability after enteral administration during critical illness after trauma: An exploratory study.

Background: During critical illness skeletal muscle wasting occurs rapidly. Although beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate (HMB) is a potential treatment to attenuate this process, the plasma appearance and muscle concentration is uncertain.

Methods: This was an exploratory study nested within a blinded, parallel group, randomized clinical trial in which critically ill patients after trauma received enteral HMB (3 g daily) or placebo.

Association between protocol change to a higher-protein formula with lower energy targets and nutrient delivery in critically ill patients with COVID-19: A retrospective cohort study.

Background: Guidelines recommend prioritizing protein provision while avoiding excessive energy delivery to critically ill patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), but there are no prospective studies evaluating such a targeted approach in this group. We aimed to evaluate the effect of a "higher-protein formula protocol" on protein, energy, and volume delivery when compared with standard nutrition protocol.

Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study of adult patients with COVID-19 who received mechanical ventilation for >72 h and enteral nutrition.

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.

Comparison of statistical methods used to meta-analyse results from interrupted time series studies: an empirical study.

Background: The Interrupted Time Series (ITS) is a robust design for evaluating public health and policy interventions or exposures when randomisation may be infeasible. Several statistical methods are available for the analysis and meta-analysis of ITS studies. We sought to empirically compare available methods when applied to real-world ITS data.

The impact of age and parity on the experience of relief and regret in women who have undergone hysterectomy for benign disease: A cross sectional survey.

Objective: To investigate the impact of age and parity on the experience on relief and regret following elective hysterectomy for benign disease, and to explore the factors that impact relief and regret.

Design: Retrospective cross-sectional survey of a cohort.

Setting: Single-centre tertiary hospital in Melbourne, Australia.

Primaquine radical cure in patients with Plasmodium falciparum malaria in areas co-endemic for P falciparum and Plasmodium vivax (PRIMA): a multicentre, open-label, superiority randomised controlled trial.

Background: In areas co-endemic for Plasmodium vivax and Plasmodium falciparum there is an increased risk of P vivax parasitaemia following P falciparum malaria. Radical cure is currently only recommended for patients presenting with P vivax malaria. Expanding the indication for radical cure to patients presenting with P falciparum malaria could reduce their risk of subsequent P vivax parasitaemia.

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.