Evidence of shared genetic factors in the etiology of gastrointestinal disorders and endometriosis and clinical implications for disease management.

In clinical practice, the co-existence of endometriosis and gastrointestinal symptoms is often observed. Using large-scale datasets, we report a genetic correlation between endometriosis and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), peptic ulcer disease (PUD), gastro-esophageal reflux disease (GORD), and a combined GORD/PUD medicated (GPM) phenotype. Mendelian randomization analyses support a causal relationship between genetic predisposition to endometriosis and IBS and GPM.

Accuracy of death certifications of diabetes, dementia and cancer in Australia: a population-based cohort study.

Background: National mortality statistics are only based on the underlying cause of death, which may considerably underestimate the effects of some chronic conditions.

Methods: The sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values for diabetes (a common precursor to multimorbidity), dementia (a potential accelerant of death) and cancer (expected to be well-recorded) were calculated from death certificates for 9 056 women from the 1921-26 cohort of the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health. Log binomial regression models were fitted to examine factors associated with the sensitivity of death certificates with these conditions as underlying or contributing causes of death.

Body mass index and the diagnosis of endometriosis: Findings from a national data linkage cohort study.

Background: Women with lower body mass index (BMI) have a higher risk of surgically confirmed endometriosis but this finding runs counterintuitive to the oestrogen-dependent theory for the disease. Increasingly, endometriosis is diagnosed via non-surgical methods. We examined BMI at age 18-23 years, and changes in BMI, and the risk of endometriosis according to the diagnostic method.

Pre-pregnancy lifestyle characteristics and risk of miscarriage: the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health.

Background: Previous studies of lifestyle characteristics and risk of miscarriage have mostly been retrospective and failed to account for induced abortions. We examine whether pre-pregnancy body-mass index, alcohol intake and smoking influence the risk of miscarriage after accounting for induced abortions.

Methods: We conducted a prospective cohort study of 9213 women with 26,594 pregnancies participating in the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health.

Longitudinal changes in employment following a diagnosis of endometriosis: Findings from an Australian cohort study.

Purpose: Endometriosis is a chronic inflammatory disease affecting the reproductive, gastrointestinal, and urinary systems. We examined changes in labor force participation amongst women with endometriosis following diagnosis.

Methods: We analyzed data from 4494 women born in 1973-78 from the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health.

Impact of Dementia on Health Service Use in the Last 2 Years of Life for Women with Other Chronic Conditions.

Objectives: To assess the impact of dementia on the use of health and community services in the last 2 years of life by women who also had other major chronic conditions.

Design: Matched groups of women with a chronic condition who did or did not also have dementia, and who died or did not die for at least another 2 years.

Setting And Participants: Participants in the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health who were born from 1921-1926.

Flexible age-period-cohort modelling illustrated using obesity prevalence data.

Background: Use of generalized linear models with continuous, non-linear functions for age, period and cohort makes it possible to estimate these effects so they are interpretable, reliable and easily displayed graphically. To demonstrate the methods we use data on the prevalence of obesity among Australian women from two independent data sources obtained using different study designs.

Methods: We used data from two long-running nationally representative studies: seven cross-sectional Australian National Health Surveys conducted between 1995 and 2017-18, each involving 6000-8000 women; and the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health which started in 1996 and involves more than 57,000 women in four age cohorts who are re-surveyed at three-yearly intervals or annually.

Use of Online or Paper Surveys by Australian Women: Longitudinal Study of Users, Devices, and Cohort Retention.

Background: There is increasing use of online surveys to improve data quality and timeliness and reduce costs. While there have been numerous cross-sectional studies comparing responses to online or paper surveys, there is little research from a longitudinal perspective.

Objective: In the context of the well-established Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health, we examined the patterns of responses to online or paper surveys across the first two waves of the study in which both modes were offered.

Predictors of change in depressive symptoms over time: Results from the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health.

Background: Depressive symptoms fluctuate over time, and are most common amongst women in early adulthood. Understanding predictors of changes in depressive symptoms among young women may inform health promotion and early intervention.

Methods: Data were collected at three-yearly intervals from 2000 (Survey 2) to 2012 (Survey 6) from the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health.

Mental health-related quality of life and the timing of motherhood: a 16-year longitudinal study of a national cohort of young Australian women.

Purpose: We examine timing of motherhood in a longitudinal cohort of young Australian women, and its relationship with mental health-related quality of life (SF-36 MHI-5), and with sociodemographic, health behaviour and health-related variables.

Methods: We analysed longitudinal self-report data from a nationally representative cohort of 10,332 Australian women born 1973-1978, surveyed 6 times between 1996 (aged 18-23) and 2012 (aged 34-39).

Results: Group-based trajectory modelling identified four groups.

Corrigendum to: Changes in smoking, drinking, overweight and physical inactivity in young Australian women 1996-2013.

Smoking, risky drinking, overweight and obesity, and physical inactivity are health-risk factors (HRFs) that contribute significantly to morbidity worldwide. Several initiatives have been introduced over the past two decades to reduce these HRFs. This paper examines changes in the prevalence of HRFs in young women (aged 18-23 years) between 1996 and 2013, overall and within demographic groups.

Changes in smoking, drinking, overweight and physical inactivity in young Australian women 1996-2013.

Issue addressed Smoking, risky drinking, overweight and obesity, and physical inactivity are health-risk factors (HRFs) that contribute significantly to morbidity worldwide. Several initiatives have been introduced over the past two decades to reduce these HRFs. This paper examines changes in the prevalence of HRFs in young women (aged 18-23 years) between 1996 and 2013, overall and within demographic groups.

Cohort Profile Update: Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health.

In 1996 the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health recruited a nationally representative sample of more than 40,000 women in three age cohorts, born in 1973-78, 1946-51 and 1921-26. At least six waves of 3-yearly surveys have been completed. Although the focus remains on factors affecting the health and well-being of women and their access to and use of health services across urban, rural and remote areas of Australia, the study has now been considerably expanded by linkage to other health data sets.

Longitudinal trajectory patterns of social support: correlates and associated mental health in an Australian national cohort of young women.

Purpose: Although social support is a significant contributor to health and well-being, little is known about patterns of perceived social support over time in young adulthood. It is also unclear which personal characteristics are associated with different patterns, and whether there is an association between social support and mental health over time. We explore these issues in a large national cohort of young women.

Recruitment via the Internet and social networking sites: the 1989-1995 cohort of the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health.

Background: Faced with the challenge of recruiting young adults for health studies, researchers have increasingly turned to the Internet and social networking sites, such as Facebook, as part of their recruitment strategy. As yet, few large-scale studies are available that report on the characteristics and representativeness of the sample obtained from such recruitment methods.

Objective: The intent of the study was to describe the sociodemographic and health characteristics of a national sample of young Australian women recruited mainly through the Internet and social networking sites and to discuss the representativeness of their sociodemographic, health, and lifestyle characteristics relative to the population.

Longitudinal analysis of relationships between social support and general health in an Australian population cohort of young women.

Purpose: The influence of social support on health and quality of life has been well documented. There is less evidence on whether health status affects social support, and little is known about longitudinal relationships between social support and health in early adulthood. This study investigates these associations using both concurrent and time-lagged measures at 5 time-points over 12 years during early adulthood.

Validation of the MOS Social Support Survey 6-item (MOS-SSS-6) measure with two large population-based samples of Australian women.

Purpose: This study aimed to validate a 6-item 1-factor global measure of social support developed from the Medical Outcomes Study Social Support Survey (MOS-SSS) for use in large epidemiological studies.

Methods: Data were obtained from two large population-based samples of participants in the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health. The two cohorts were aged 53-58 and 28-33 years at data collection (N = 10,616 and 8,977, respectively).

Visualising and modelling changes in categorical variables in longitudinal studies.

Background: Graphical techniques can provide visually compelling insights into complex data patterns. In this paper we present a type of lasagne plot showing changes in categorical variables for participants measured at regular intervals over time and propose statistical models to estimate distributions of marginal and transitional probabilities.

Methods: The plot uses stacked bars to show the distribution of categorical variables at each time interval, with different colours to depict different categories and changes in colours showing trajectories of participants over time.

A comparison of SF-36 summary measures of physical and mental health for women across the life course.

Background: Physical and mental component summary scores (PCS and MCS, respectively) are often used to summarise SF-36 quality of life subscales. This paper investigates PCS and MCS across the life course and compares the trajectories obtained from two different methods of calculation.

Methods: The Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health is a population-based study with three cohorts of women and SF-36 surveys taken at multiple time points.

Should physical activity intervention efforts take a whole population, high-risk or middle road strategy?

Purpose: This study was designed to compare theoretical strategies for changing physical activity (PA) in terms of their potential to reduce the incidence of chronic conditions in midage women: (1) whole population: +30 minutes/week in all, (2) high-risk: +60 minutes/week in the lowest 25% of the PA distribution, and (3) middle road: shift all those not meeting guidelines to a level commensurate with meeting guidelines.

Methods: 10,854 participants (50-55 years in 2001) in the Australian Longitudinal Study of Women's Health completed mail surveys in 2001, 2004, 2007, and 2010. PA was calculated as MET · minutes/week spent in walking, moderate and vigorous PA in the previous week.

Does government subsidy for costs of medical and pharmaceutical services result in higher service utilization by older widowed women in Australia?

Background: In Australia, Medicare, the national health insurance system which includes the Medical Benefits Scheme (MBS) and Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS), provides partial coverage for most medical services and pharmaceuticals. For war widows, the Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA) covers almost the entire cost of their health care. The objective of this study was to test whether war widows have higher usage of medical services and pharmaceuticals.

The Long-term relationship between duration of treatment and contracture resolution using dynamic orthotic devices for the stiff proximal interphalangeal joint: a prospective cohort study.

Study Design: Descriptive design with a prospective cohort.

Introduction: Little is known about the long-term relationship between the duration of treatment using dynamic orthoses (splints), and contracture resolution in the stiff proximal interphalangeal (PIP) joint.

Purpose Of The Study: To examine the long-term relationship between weeks of treatment using dynamic orthoses and contracture resolution, in both flexion and extension deficits of the PIP joint.