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Jenny Downs BApplSci (physio) MSc PhD Head, Child Disability 08 6319 1763 Jenny.Downs@thekids.org.au Head, Child Disability Areas of research
Nutrition is a modifiable lifestyle factor that may play a role in allergic disease prevention. This article summarizes current evidence on the antenatal diet as a consideration for strategies to prevent child food allergy. As eczema in early infancy substantially increases the risk of food allergy development, the effects of maternal dietary intakes during pregnancy on infant eczema outcomes will also be discussed.
Siblings of individuals with neurodevelopmental conditions (NDCs) are a minority population at higher genetic and environmental risk of poorer neurocognitive and psychosocial outcomes compared to siblings of individuals without NDCs.
Pelvic health conditions among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and men are under-recognised and under-reported despite indication of the significant burden of these conditions. Access to effective management provided in a culturally safe manner appears lacking.
Environmental pollution has a detrimental effect on human health. Short and long-term exposure to harmful pollutants can lead to serious ailments and incurable diseases. Consequently, it is necessary to manage the environmental contaminants to mitigate or even eliminate the deleterious effects to living beings.
Hospital-treated self-harm is common, costly and associated with repeated self-harm and suicide. Providing a comprehensive psychosocial assessment following self-harm is recommended by professional bodies and may improve outcomes.
Prechtl's General Movement Assessment (GMA) at fidgety age (3-5 months) is a widely used tool for early detection of cerebral palsy. Further to GMA classification, detailed assessment of movement patterns at fidgety age is conducted with the Motor Optimality Score-Revised.
There is now good evidence that behavioural signs of autism spectrum conditions (autism) emerge over the first two years of life. Identifying clear developmental differences early in life may facilitate earlier identification and intervention that can promote longer-term quality of life. Here we present a systematic review of studies investigating behavioural markers of later autism diagnosis or symptomology taken at 0-6 months.
A significant number of babies present transiently with low protein kinase C zeta (PKCζ) levels in cord blood T cells, associated with reduced ability to transition from a neonatal Th2 to a mature Th1 cytokine bias, leading to a higher risk of developing allergic sensitisation, compared to neonates whose T cells have 'normal' PKCζ levels. However, the importance of PKCζ signalling in regulating their differentiation from a Th2 to a Th1 cytokine phenotype propensity remains undefined.
Reducing the over-representation of Aboriginal children in the child protection system is a key target for the Australian government. We aimed to provide more recent evidence on the population-level cumulative incidence of contacts for Aboriginal children with child protective services in Western Australia.