Skip to content

Search

Comparing the effects of sun exposure and vitamin D supplementation on vitamin D insufficiency, and immune and cardio-metabolic function

Adults living in the sunny Australian climate are at high risk of skin cancer, but vitamin D deficiency (defined here as a serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D...

Nutritional approaches for the primary prevention of allergic disease: An update

The dramatic rise in early childhood allergic diseases indicates the specific vulnerability of the immune system to early life environmental changes.

A Review of Cardiac Surgical Procedures and Their Outcomes for Paediatric Rheumatic Heart Disease in Western Australia

Surgical intervention is an important treatment modality for advanced rheumatic heart disease (RHD). This study aimed to describe patient characteristics and outcomes from cardiac surgery for RHD in patients referred to the only tertiary paediatric hospital in Western Australia. 

Research opportunities for the primary prevention and management of acute rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease: a National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute workshop report

Primary prevention of acute rheumatic fever (ARF) and rheumatic heart disease (RHD) encompasses the timely diagnosis and adequate treatment of the superficial group A Streptococcus (GAS) infections pharyngitis and impetigo. GAS is the only known inciting agent in the pathophysiology of the disease.

Pterygium and conjunctival ultraviolet autofluorescence in young Australian adults: The Raine study

Sun exposure is associated with several ophthalmic diseases, including pterygium which may develop in adolescence.

Vitamin D in fetal development: Findings from a birth cohort study

Birth cohort studies provide an invaluable resource for studies of the influence of the fetal environment on health in later life.

2023 World Heart Federation guidelines for the echocardiographic diagnosis of rheumatic heart disease

Rheumatic heart disease (RHD) is an important and preventable cause of morbidity and mortality among children and young adults in low-income and middle-income countries, as well as among certain at-risk populations living in high-income countries. The 2012 World Heart Federation echocardiographic criteria provided a standardized approach for the identification of RHD and facilitated an improvement in early case detection.

Development of a sustained release implant of benzathine penicillin G for secondary prophylaxis of rheumatic heart disease

Regular intramuscular (i.m.) benzathine penicillin G (BPG) injections have been the cornerstone of rheumatic heart disease (RHD) secondary prophylaxis since the 1950s. Patient adherence to IM BPG is poor, largely due to pain, the need for regular injections every 3-4 weeks and health sector delivery challenges in resource-limited settings. There is an urgent need for new approaches for secondary prophylaxis, such as an implant which could provide sustained penicillin concentrations for more than 6 months.

Shining the Light on Sunshine: A systematic review of the influence of sun exposure on type 2 diabetes mellitus-related outcomes

This review highlights significant gaps in research pertaining to sun exposure and type 2 diabetes mellitus related outcomes

The relationship between ambient ultraviolet radiation (UVR) and objectively measured personal UVR exposure dose is modified by season and latitude

Season and latitude modify the relationship between ambient ultraviolet radiation and personal ultraviolet radiation exposure

Roadmap to incorporating group A Streptococcus molecular point-of-care testing for remote Australia: a key activity to eliminate rheumatic heart disease

Jonathan Asha Dylan Rosemary Janessa Jeffrey Carapetis AM Bowen Barth Wyber Pickering Cannon AM MBBS FRACP FAFPHM PhD FAHMS BA MBBS DCH FRACP PhD

Ultraviolet radiation suppresses obesity and symptoms of metabolic syndrome independently of vitamin D

UVR or sunlight exposure may be an effective means of suppressing the development of obesity and MetS, through mechanisms that are independent of vitamin D

Are hospitalised acute rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease cases notified to the Western Australian Register in the Pilbara region? A retrospective review, 2016–2023

Acute rheumatic fever (ARF) and rheumatic heart disease (RHD) are prevalent among First Nations peoples in Australia. In Western Australia (WA), notification of ARF and RHD to the WA RHD register is mandatory and supports follow-up care. However, previous studies from rural WA have reported incomplete notification, suggesting gaps in surveillance and hospital-registry linkage.

Genome-wide association study of vitamin D levels in children: replication in the Western Australian Pregnancy Cohort (Raine) study

This genome-wide association study (GWAS) utilises data from the Western Australian Pregnancy Cohort (Raine) Study for 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) levels...

Rheumatic Heart Disease Severity, Progression and Outcomes: A Multi‐State Model

The prognosis of young Indigenous Australians diagnosed with severe RHD is bleak; interventions must focus on earlier detection and treatment

Incidence of nonmelanoma skin cancer in relation to ambient UV radiation in white populations, 1978-2012 empirical relationships

This paper examined dose-response relationships between ambient UVR levels and NMSC incidence at the population level.

Rheumatic heart disease across the Western Pacific: not just a Pacific Island problem

We aimed to review RHD burden in Western Pacific Region outside Oceania to identify countries with high RHD burden

Myopia is associated with lower vitamin D status in young adults

The aim of this study was to investigate the link between vitamin D levels in the blood and short-sightedness in young adults.