Publications by authors named "Pennell C"

Objective: The objective of this review is to identify international and Nova Scotian standards of care, CPGs, and policies informing equitable health care.

Introduction: The lack of attention given to intersectional health care needs of diverse populations perpetuates health inequities among under-served groups, creating an urgent need for health care reform globally.

Inclusion Criteria: This scoping review will include standards of care, CPGs, and policies focusing on equity-related health indicators.

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Objectives: Research to develop early screening tools to determine an individual's risk of developing adult-onset disease is a growing field. Expectant parents may find themselves with an option in the future to undergo screening to determine not only genetic abnormalities in their child but also their risk of developing adult-onset non-communicable diseases (NCD) such as hypertension, obesity or hypercholesterolaemia. To ensure acceptability and feasibility of new screening tools researchers must work in partnership with healthcare consumers to discern consumers' current understanding and acceptance of these technologies in research and the potential for clinical applications.

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Background: Research in the developmental origins of health and disease provides compelling evidence that adverse events during the first 1000 days of life from conception can impact life course health. Despite many decades of research, we still lack a complete understanding of the mechanisms underlying some of these associations. The Newcastle 1000 Study (NEW1000) is a comprehensive, prospective population-based pregnancy cohort study based in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia, that will recruit pregnant women and their partners at 11-14 weeks' gestation, with assessments at 20, 28, and 36 weeks; birth; 6 weeks; and 6 months, in order to provide detailed data about the first 1000 days of life to investigate the developmental origins of noncommunicable diseases.

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Background: It is unclear whether sex differences in behavior arising from birth weight (BW) are genuine because of the cross-sectional nature and potential confounding in previous studies. We aimed to test whether sex differences associated with BW phenotype were reproducible using a Mendelian randomization approach, i.e.

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  • - This study analyzed how pregnancy complications and birth outcomes affect telomere length in children at age 17, using data from the Raine cohort study in Western Australia, which followed 2900 children over the years.
  • - The research found no overall differences in telomere length based on individual maternal or birth outcomes, but females exposed to adverse conditions during pregnancy exhibited shorter telomeres compared to those born without complications.
  • - Interestingly, while females from pre-eclamptic pregnancies specifically showed significantly shorter telomeres, no such effects were observed in males; this highlights the need for further studies to investigate the factors influencing telomere length in genders separately.
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Background: Implementation of recommended gestational weight gain (GWG) care by antenatal care providers is poor. It is unclear whether practice implementation and barriers differ between antenatal care provider profession or experience. This study aimed to assesses the provision of and barriers to guideline care for GWG and examine associations with professional discipline and years of experience.

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  • The study investigates how the mode of delivery (cesarean vs. vaginal) affects children's neurodevelopmental outcomes, focusing on behavioral and cognitive test scores.
  • Researchers analyzed data from 2,855 children in the Raine Study, comparing various delivery methods and their impacts on behavior and development.
  • Findings suggest that non-elective cesarean deliveries are linked to worse behavioral scores, while elective cesarean deliveries correlate with lower motor function scores; however, these differences do not indicate a higher risk of clinical deficits.
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Grip strength (GS) is a proxy measure for muscular strength and a predictor for bone fracture risk among other diseases. Previous genome-wide association studies (GWASs) have been conducted in large cohorts of adults focusing on scores collected for the dominant hand, therefore increasing the likelihood of confounding effects by environmental factors. Here, we perform the first GWAS meta-analyses on maximal GS with the dominant (GSD) and non-dominant (GSND) hand in two cohorts of children (ALSPAC, N = 5450; age range = 10.

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  • The diagnosis and management of biliary dyskinesia in children and adolescents is inconsistent, prompting a systematic review by the American Pediatric Surgical Association to create evidence-based recommendations.
  • The review focused on key areas such as diagnostic criteria, the need for cholecystectomy, and outcomes from surgical vs. non-surgical management, but found that diagnostic criteria are unclear and reliable predictors of treatment success are lacking.
  • Pediatric-specific guidelines are needed to clarify this condition, improve diagnostic processes, and determine effective management, along with calls for more prospective studies to identify which patients could benefit from surgery.
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  • Scientists looked at the timing of when girls start their periods (called menarche) and how it can affect their health later in life.
  • They studied about 800,000 women and found over a thousand genetic signals that influence when menstruation starts.
  • Some women have a much higher chance of starting their periods too early or too late based on their genetic makeup, suggesting that genes play a big role in this process!
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Background: Significant variation in management strategies for lymphatic malformations (LMs) in children persists. The goal of this systematic review is to summarize outcomes for medical therapy, sclerotherapy, and surgery, and to provide evidence-based recommendations regarding the treatment.

Methods: Three questions regarding LM management were generated according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA).

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Objective: Screening for blunt intra-abdominal injury in children often includes directed laboratory evaluation that guides need for computed tomography. We sought to evaluate the use of urinalysis in identifying patients with clinically important intraabdominal injury ( ci -IAI).

Methods: A retrospective chart review was performed for all patients less than 18 years who presented with blunt mechanisms at a level I trauma center between 2016 and 2019.

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Previous cross-sectional studies suggest that birth weight (BW) is associated with aggression-, social- and attention problems differently in boys and girls. We sought to test if these differences could be confirmed in a longitudinal study. The 1989 Raine Study provided prospectively collected data on perinatal variables and repeated child behaviour checklist assessments from ages 5 to 17.

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Background: Recent studies report conflicting results regarding the relationship between labour epidural analgesia (LEA) in mothers and neurodevelopmental disorders in their offspring. We evaluated behavioural and neuropsychological test scores in children of mothers who used LEA.

Methods: Children enrolled in the Raine Study from Western Australia and delivered vaginally from a singleton pregnancy between 1989 and 1992 were evaluated.

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Ninety-four percent of global maternal deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The UN has a goal of reducing maternal deaths to <70 per 100,000 live births by 2030, but progress is minimal. Maternal deaths in LMICs are associated with 3 delays in the care of women with obstetrical emergencies: 1) in the family of the woman realizing that her life is at risk, 2) in the transport of the woman to a hospital, and 3) in providing care after arrival at the hospital.

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  • The study investigates the implementation and acceptability of gestational weight gain (GWG) care as recommended by Australian clinical guidelines for pregnant women, focusing on weight assessment and dietary advice.
  • It found that only 13.1% of women reported receiving weight assessments at both their first and a subsequent antenatal visit, and less than one-third received comprehensive advice on GWG, diet, and physical activity.
  • Factors such as being younger, identifying as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, having a higher pre-pregnancy BMI, experiencing a first pregnancy, and living in lower socio-economic conditions were associated with higher likelihoods of receiving care and advice.
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  • - This study explores how growth patterns during puberty relate to future health outcomes by analyzing height data from about 56,000 individuals across various ancestries using a technique called SITAR.
  • - The researchers identified 26 significant genetic loci linked to height growth during puberty and found that different growth rates are associated with various health risks, like type 2 diabetes and heart conditions.
  • - The findings suggest that there are multiple growth trajectories during puberty, each influencing adult health differently, indicating that no single growth pattern is the "best" for lifelong health outcomes.
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  • - The study investigates how the DASH diet score influences systolic blood pressure (BP) in relation to genetic factors, analyzing data from over 127,000 participants from different population groups, primarily European.
  • - Researchers identified several genetic loci associated with interactions between an individual's genetics and their response to the DASH diet, particularly focusing on the variant rs117878928 at chromosomal location 15q25.1.
  • - Results suggest significant gene-DASH diet interactions affecting systolic BP, highlighting the need for further research in larger, more diverse populations to confirm these findings.
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  • Researchers conducted a study on vocabulary development in children, looking specifically at how genetic factors influence both expressive and receptive vocabulary sizes as children grow.
  • The study involved nearly 38,000 parental reports from children of European descent and analyzed vocabulary measures at different developmental stages, assessing various genetic correlations.
  • Findings indicated that early vocabulary is somewhat heritable and that there's genetic overlap with literacy skills, but a strong link to intelligence and ADHD appears later during toddlerhood.
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  • The study investigated how genetic variations (genotype) interact with dietary habits (specifically the DASH diet score) to influence systolic blood pressure (SBP).
  • Researchers analyzed a massive dataset of genetic information from over 127,000 individuals to identify specific genetic locations (loci) that may play a role in this interaction.
  • They found significant genetic interactions with the DASH diet score, especially at a specific gene location (rs117878928), indicating that diet can affect blood pressure differently based on an individual's genetic makeup, which highlights the need for further research with more diverse populations.
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Purpose: Changes in refractive error during young adulthood is common yet risk factors at this age are largely unexplored. This study explored risk factors for these changes, including gene-environmental interactions.

Methods: Spherical equivalent refraction (SER) and axial length (AL) for 624 community-based adults were measured at 20 (baseline) and 28 years old.

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