Introduction: Antenatal physical activity (PA) is associated with beneficial changes in placental growth and function; however, the effect of excessive sitting time is less clear. The aim of this study was to investigate whether feto-placental growth changes with maternal activity, and whether these associations differ in a sex-specific manner.
Methods: This study included women enrolled in the Queensland Family Cohort study who self-reported PA and sitting time at 24 or 36 weeks of gestation.
Objective: To determine the levels of soluble (pro)renin receptor (s(P)RR) in women carrying Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander (First Nations) babies and investigate whether s(P)RR levels change in women who have complicated pregnancies.
Study Design: Cross-sectional analysis of data (2010-2018). Data/samples were from the Gomeroi Gaaynggal Study, a longitudinal cohort study based on Gomeroi/Kamilaroi lands (Tamworth), NSW, Australia.
Background: This systematic review aims to highlight the scope of pharmacogenomics research within global Indigenous populations. This review also explores the barriers and facilitators of pharmacogenomics research within this population.
Methodology: A systematic review of literature was conducted to identify and present an understanding of current empirical evidence demonstrating the conduct of genomics or pharmacogenomics research within global Indigenous populations (PROSPERO registration: CRD42021257226).
Previous research has shown that delivery mode can shape infant gut microbiome composition. However, mothers delivering by caesarean section routinely receive prophylactic antibiotics prior to delivery, resulting in antibiotic exposure to the infant via the placenta. Previously, only a small number of studies have examined the effect of delivery mode versus antibiotic exposure on the infant gut microbiome with mixed findings.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: A feasibility study to test the proposed methodology for a larger randomised control trial was conducted, investigating the comparative effectiveness of the two types of pressure management support surfaces with regards to healing pressure injuries (PI). A secondary objective was to provide insights into the user acceptability of the two types of pressure management support surfaces.
Method: A randomised control feasibility study was conducted in a community health setting in Canberra, Australia.
The stillbirth rate among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and communities in Australia is around double that of non-Indigenous women. While the development of effective prevention strategies during pregnancy and improving care following stillbirth for women and families in communities has become a national priority, there has been limited progress in stillbirth disparities. With community permission, this study aimed to gain a better understanding of community experiences, perceptions, and priorities around stillbirth.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Mental health conditions prior to or during pregnancy that are not addressed can have adverse consequences for pregnancy and birth outcomes. This study aimed to determine the extent to which women's mental health-related hospitalisation (MHrH) prior to or during pregnancy was associated with a risk of adverse birth outcomes.
Methods: We linked the perinatal data register for all births in the Northern Territory, Australia, from the year 1999 to 2017, to hospital admissions records to create a cohort of births to women aged 15-44 years with and without MHrH prior to or during pregnancy.
Background: Successfully recruiting male participants to complete a healthcare related study is important for healthcare study completion and to advance our clinical knowledgebase. To date, most research studies have examined the barriers and facilitators of female participants in longitudinal healthcare-related studies with limited information available about the needs of males in longitudinal research. This systematic review examines the unique barriers and facilitators to male recruitment across longitudinal healthcare-related research studies.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFImportance: Prenatal opioid exposure (POE) may alter with fetal development of the immune system, which may influence long-term health and susceptibility to immune-related conditions.
Objective: To compare the risk of hospitalization and emergency department presentation for immune-related conditions in children with and without POE.
Design, Setting, And Participants: This retrospective, population-based cohort study used linked administrative health records of all children born in Western Australia between January 1, 2003, and December 31, 2018 (N = 401 462).
Background: Globally, almost 30% of women report experiencing intimate partner violence. In Australia, intimate partner violence is estimated to affect 2.0% to 4.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: In Australia, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (Indigenous) families have strong, cohesive, and nurturing cultural practices that contribute to effective family functioning and child rearing. These practices can lead to positive effects on children and communities, and include kinship relations, traditional knowledge systems, collective community focus, respect for Elders contributions, and spirituality. However, poor health and wellbeing outcomes exist across the lifespan for Indigenous Australians.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Nutrition in pregnancy is pivotal to optimizing infant growth and maternal well-being. The factors affecting Indigenous people's food and nutrition intake are complex with a history of colonization impacting the disproportionate effect of social determinants to this day. Literature regarding the dietary intake or dietary priorities of Indigenous women in Australia is scarce, with supportive, culturally appropriate resources developed for and with this group rare.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHigher dietary intakes of Omega-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (-3 LC-PUFAs) have been linked to lower rates of preterm birth and preeclampsia. The aim of this analysis was to describe dietary intake and fractions of red blood cell (RBC) membrane LC-PUFAs during pregnancy in a cohort of Indigenous Australian women. Maternal dietary intake was assessed using two validated dietary assessment tools and quantified using the AUSNUT (Australian Food and Nutrient) 2011-2013 database.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBreastmilk is thought to influence the infant gut by supplying prebiotics in the form of human milk oligosaccharides and potentially seeding the gut with breastmilk microbes. However, the presence of a breastmilk microbiota and origins of these microbes are still debated. As a pilot study, we assessed the microbes present in expressed breastmilk at six-weeks postpartum using shotgun metagenomic sequencing in a heterogenous cohort of women who delivered by vaginal (n = 8) and caesarean delivery (n = 8).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFront Public Health
November 2022
Background: Consumer engagement is increasingly recognized as an instrumental component of health research, with many institutions and international bodies mandating it as part of the research and funding process. Given an increasing utilization of consumer engagement in health research, it is critical to identify the literature which support its value and tools that capture successful outcomes. To develop an overview of the literature, we conducted an umbrella scoping review exploring important outcomes of consumer engagement in health research combined with a scoping review of relevant frameworks.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAntenatal depression (AND) affects 1 in 10 fathers, potentially negatively impacting maternal mental health and well-being during and after the transition to parenthood. However, few studies have assessed the social predictors of paternal AND or their possible associations with maternal mental health. We analysed data from 180 couples participating in the Queensland Family Cohort longitudinal study.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: There are very few developed countries where physical isolation and low community transmission has been reported for COVID-19 but this has been the experience of Australia. The impact of physical isolation combined with low disease transmission on the mental health of pregnant women is currently unknown and there have been no studies examining the psychological experience for partners of pregnant women during lockdown. The aim of the current study was to examine the impact of the first COVID-19 lockdown in March 2020 and post lockdown from August 2020 on the mental health of pregnant women or postpartum women and their partners.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The role of personalized treatment approaches, including those based on genetic testing, are increasingly enabling informed decision-making to improve health outcomes. Research involving Indigenous Australians has been lagging behind, although this population experiences a higher prevalence of chronic disease and mental health disorders.
Methods: Using community-based participatory research principles, this study purposefully interviewed participants with a diagnosed common mental disorder and a comorbid chronic disease condition.
Objective: Indigenous infants are disproportionately more likely to have negative outcomes compared to non-Indigenous infants with suboptimal nutrition in the first 1000 d playing a major role. This review aimed to systematically assess the effectiveness of interventions designed to optimise dietary intake and/or nutrition-related behaviours among Indigenous infants globally and to identify whether Indigenous populations were involved in the co-design of the intervention.
Design: Articles published before June 2020 that reported nutrition-related interventions and outcomes for Indigenous infants were identified from a database search.
Aust N Z J Obstet Gynaecol
February 2022
Asthma is the most common respiratory illness in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians. From the Mater Mothers routinely collected perinatal data in Brisbane we have identified that 24% of Indigenous and 17% of non-Indigenous women have pregnancies complicated by asthma. Indigenous women with asthma are more likely to have poorer birth outcomes when compared to non-Indigenous women with asthma, with neonatal death being doubled in asthmatic Indigenous women.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Pregnancy can be a stressful time for many women. Australian Indigenous women of childbearing age (18-44 years) have been found to experience high or very high rates of psychological distress. However, few studies have examined the burden of or any associations between stressful life events, social disadvantage and psychological distress for pregnant Indigenous women in Australia.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: The perinatal-postnatal family environment is associated with childhood outcomes including impacts on physical and mental health and educational attainment. Family longitudinal cohort studies collect in-depth data that can capture the influence of an era on family lifestyle, mental health, chronic disease, education and financial stability to enable identification of gaps in society and provide the evidence for changes in government in policy and practice.
Methods And Analysis: The Queensland Family Cohort (QFC) is a prospective, observational, longitudinal study that will recruit 12 500 pregnant families across the state of Queensland (QLD), Australia and intends to follow-up families and children for three decades.