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Recent
Publications
There are over 300
research
articles published in medical journals using the
Busselton data. Many of these can be accessed through PubMed
using
"Busselton" as a key word. A comprehensive list of research
publications are also listed here.
Below are brief descriptions and summaries of recent scientific papers
that have been published in medical journals and highlight the
important discoveries being made using the Busselton data. Please
follow the links to read the complete publication.
TSH and thyroid antibodies as predictors of hypothyroidism: a 13 year, longitudinal study of a
community-based cohort using current immunoassay techniques
Authors: John P Walsh, Alexandra P Bremner, Peter Feddema, Peter J Leedman, Suzanne J Brown, Peter O’Leary
Hypothyroidism (thyroid
underactivity) is common, but there are few long term studies examining
risk factors for its development. In this study, thyroid function tests
were measured on stored blood samples from the 1981 and 1994-5
Busselton Health Surveys. The risk of developing hypothyroidism over
this 13 year period was higher in survey participants who were female,
those whose blood TSH levels were above
2.5 mU/L in 1981 and those
with positive thyroid antibodies. The results will allow an estimate of
the long term risk of hypothyroidism for any individual to be
calculated using their gender, TSH and thyroid antibody results.
This work was published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism
Risk factors for adult-onset asthma: A 14 -year longitudinal study
Authors: Euzebiusz Jamrozik, Matthew W. Knuiman, Alan L. James,
Mark L. Divitini, Bill
Musk
A study of of more than 1,500
Busselton adults who were followed up over a 14 year period has found
that upper airway conditions including rhinitis and snoring predicted
the onset of adulthood asthma. Adults with bronchitis, chest tightness,
rhinitis or hayfever were more likely to be diagnosed with asthma by
the end of the study period, and adults with reduced lung function were
three times as likely to be newly diagnosed. New-onset habitual snoring was strongly linked with diagnosis
and was more prevalent in overweight males and those who
smoked. These findings agree with the ‘unified airway’
hypothesis, which links rhinitis and other upper airway disorders with
the development of adult-onset asthma. Although adult onset-asthma and
childhood asthma share common risk factors, factors that predict new
diagnosis are very different. In contrast to children, atopy as
measured by skin prick tests is not associated with adult-onset asthma.
These findings indicate that GPs should target risk factors such as
smoking, weight gain and sleep apnoea to optimise the recognition,
prevention and treatment of adult-onset asthma.
This work was published in Respirology 2009, 14:814-821
Changes in the prevalence of asthma in adults since 1966: The Busselton Health Study
Authors: Alan L. James,
Matthew W. Knuiman, Mark L. Divitini, Jennie Hui, Michael Hunter, Lyle
Palmer, Graeme
Maier, Bill
Musk
A study into the
prevalence of asthma in Busselton has found a steady increase in asthma
in adults since the surveys first began. Of over 2700 adults who were
surveyed in the 2005/07 survey it was found that 1 in 5 people
(20%)
have been told by their doctor that they have asthma. This is compared
to only 6% of people in 1966 when the studies first began.
This change has also been accompanied by a increase in the
amount of people reporting wheeze or cough and phlegm, however
bronchitis and shortness of breath have remained stable. At the same
time lung function, particularly a measurement of the sensitivity of
people's airways (a hallmark of asthma) has not changed. This suggests
that doctors may be diagnosing asthma rather than bronchitis more
often. Changes in the prevalence of allergy may also be involved in the
increase of asthma, particularly among 18-54 year olds where there was
a significant increase in the amount of people with a positive skin
response to common household and environmental allergens. The study is
important as it not only helps identify trends in health care practice
and is useful for planning future health care for the community but
will also contribute to the understanding of the basic nature of asthma
that will help the development of improved treatment and prevention.
This work was published in European Respiratory Journal 2009,
July 30
Serum alanine aminotransferase, metabolic
syndrome and
cardiovascular disease in an Australian population
Authors: John K. Olynyk,
Matthew W. Knuiman, Mark L. Divitini, Timothy M.E.
Davis, John Beilby, Joseph Hung
Elevations of a common liver blood test
(alanine
aminotransferase or ALT for short) are common and have been associated
with a
range of common medical problems comprising obesity, glucose
intolerance, abnormal
blood fat levels and high blood pressure which when present together
are often
termed the “Metabolic
Syndrome”.
Elevated ALT levels have also been linked to the risk of cardiovascular
disease. It is
assumed that resistance of the body to
the effects of insulin underlies the link between ALT levels, metabolic
syndrome and cardiovascular disease. In this study we wanted to examine
if
elevated ALT levels were associated with the metabolic syndrome or
cardiovascular events in 3719 subjects who were studied over a 10 year
period.
We showed that the prevalence of the metabolic syndrome was 17% in men
and 15%
in women. ALT was significantly associated with the metabolic syndrome
and each
of its five components and this association was not completely
accounted for by
resistance of the body to insulin. After taking into account the
effects of the
metabolic syndrome, there was no positive association between ALT and
cardiovascular
disease events over the 10-year follow-up period. We have shown for the
first
time that there is a strong association between ALT and the metabolic
syndrome independent
of resistance of the body to insulin. The importance of this for
clinicians is
that blood ALT levels mediate their effects on cardiovascular disease
through
effects largely determined by the metabolic syndrome and its components
rather
than as an independent liver effect.
This work was published in American
Journal of Gastroenterology 2009;104:1715-22.
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