Publications by authors named "Renate R Zilkens"

Objectives: To i) describe the demographic and assault characteristics of males alleging recent sexual assault, ii) determine the severity and frequency of general body injury and the frequency of anal and genital injury, iii) identify vulnerability factors and assault characteristics associated with injury.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Setting: Sexual Assault Resource Centre (SARC), Western Australia.

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Objectives: To describe the frequency and severity of general body injury in women alleging recent sexual assault and then identify demographic and assault characteristics associated with injury severity.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Setting: Sexual Assault Resource Centre (SARC), Western Australia.

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Background: The Sexual Assault Resource Center (SARC) in Perth, Western Australia provides free 24-hour medical, forensic, and counseling services to persons aged over 13 years following sexual assault.

Objective: The aim of this research was to design a data management system that maintains accurate quality information on all sexual assault cases referred to SARC, facilitating audit and peer-reviewed research.

Methods: The work to develop SARC Medical Services Clinical Information System (SARC-MSCIS) took place during 2007-2009 as a collaboration between SARC and Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia.

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Objectives: To describe the frequency of genital and anal injury and associated demographic and assault characteristics in women alleging sexual assault.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Setting: Sexual Assault Resource Centre (SARC), Western Australia.

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Aims/hypothesis: The study aimed to assess the incidence, age of onset, survival and relative hazard of dementia in well-categorised community-based patients with type 2 diabetes compared with a matched cohort of individuals without diabetes.

Methods: A longitudinal observational study was undertaken involving 1291 participants with type 2 diabetes from the Fremantle Diabetes Study and 5159 matched residents without documented diabetes. Linkage with health-related databases was used to detect incident dementia.

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Objective: To describe the prevalence, risk factors, signs and symptoms of non-fatal strangulation (NFS) in women referred to a Sexual Assault Resource Centre (SARC) following recent sexual assault.

Methods: A cross-sectional study using data routinely collected at time of forensic examination of women (age ≥ 13 years) referred to the Western Australian SARC between Jan-2009 and Mar-2015 alleging a recent sexual assault. Data on demographics, assault characteristics and forensic findings were available.

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Objective: Although prospective studies suggest light-to-moderate chronic alcohol intake protects against coronary artery disease in type 2 diabetic patients, the balance of effects on individual cardiovascular risk factors needs further assessment. We examined the effects of alcohol consumption on 24-h ambulatory blood pressure (BP) and heart rate (HR), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, fibrinogen, C-reactive protein, homocysteine, and glycaemic control in well controlled type 2 diabetes.

Methods: Twenty-four participants aged 49-66 year were randomized to a three-period crossover study with women drinking red wine 230  ml/day (∼24  g alcohol/day) and men drinking red wine 300  ml/day (∼31  g alcohol/day), or equivalent volumes of dealcoholized red wine (DRW) or water, each for 4 weeks.

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Objective: To examine the association of mid-life exposure to several psychiatric disorders with the development of late-life dementia.

Methods: A matched case-control study using Western Australian state-wide hospital inpatient, outpatient mental health and emergency records linked to death records. Incident dementia cases (2000-2009) aged 65 to 84 years were sex- and age-matched to an electoral roll control.

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Background: The Australian Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) first subsidized cholinesterase inhibitors (CEIs) for Alzheimer's disease in 2001, introducing a novel therapy for a previously untreatable common condition. This study aims to determine Australian rates of CEI use and to assess equality of access to treatment based on socioeconomic status and geographic remoteness.

Methods: Pharmaceutical claims records were used to identify all Australians prescribed CEIs between January 2003 and December 2010.

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Dementia-related healthcare planning requires accurate information on dementia patient characteristics and hospitalization trends at a population level. This population-based retrospective cohort study was designed to evaluate factors associated with total hospital length-of-stay (tLOS) in the last year of life (1990-2005) in Western Australians with dementia. Using linked hospital and death records, 29,884 dementia cases were identified.

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Background/aim: To use health record data linkage to improve case ascertainment and death rate estimates of deaths with dementia.

Methods: Retrospective population study. Western Australians older than 20 years who died between 1990 and 2005 with a dementia diagnosis in Western Australian hospitals and/or death records using the Western Australian Data Linkage System were classed as having a lifetime history of dementia.

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There is considerable evidence that chronic moderate-to-high alcohol consumption increases blood pressure. The mechanisms by which this occurs are not clear. Alcohol consumption can induce oxidative stress and cytochrome P450 (CYP450) isoforms that are associated with oxidative stress and may influence vascular tone.

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A positive relationship between alcohol consumption and blood pressure (BP) is well-established but the relative effect of specific alcoholic beverages is controversial. This study aimed to determine whether red wine may improve vascular function and have less of an impact on blood pressure because of its high content of antioxidant vasodilator polyphenolic compounds. Healthy normotensive men entered a 4-period crossover study comparing in random order 4 weeks of control-abstinence with similar periods of daily consumption of red wine (375 mL; 39 grams alcohol), de-alcoholized red wine (375 mL), or beer (1125 mL; 41 grams alcohol).

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Objective: Population data suggest that alcohol consumption may influence the risk of diabetes in a biphasic manner, but this has not been tested by any controlled interventions. The object of this study was to determine whether reducing alcohol intake in moderate-to-heavy drinkers (40-110 g/day) results in improvement in insulin sensitivity.

Research Design And Methods: A 4-week run-in period where subjects maintained their usual drinking pattern was followed by randomization to a two-way cross-over intervention study.

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The French Paradox relates to the observation that mortality rates due to coronary heart disease are relatively low in France despite a diet rich in saturated fats. Another paradox linked to alcohol is the diverse associations of acute and chronic alcohol use with respect to insulin resistance, incidence of type 2 diabetes and incidence of cardiovascular disease in type 2 diabetes. Reports consistently suggest that the acute affects of alcohol induce a state of insulin resistance following either an oral and/or intravenous glucose load.

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Background: Regular light consumption of alcohol appears to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, whereas in heavier drinkers the opposite effect is seen. This biphasic relationship could partly be due to contrasting actions of low and high alcohol intake on endothelial function.

Objective: To determine whether reducing alcohol intake in moderate-to-heavy drinkers (40-110 g/day) would improve conduit artery endothelial function as assessed by post-ischaemic brachial artery flow-mediated dilatation (FMD).

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