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Debbie Susan Palmer Prescott BSc BND PhD MBBS BMedSci PhD FRACP Head, Nutrition in Early Life Honorary Research Fellow debbie.palmer@uwa.edu.au
Planetary health is a broad multidisciplinary effort that attempts to address what has been described as “Anthropocene Syndrome”—the wicked, interrelated challenges of our time. These include, but are not limited to, grotesque biodiversity losses, climate change, environmental degradation, resource depletion, the global burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), health inequalities, social injustices, erosion of wisdom and civility, together with the many structural underpinnings of these grand challenges.
Pregnancy and the postnatal period can be a time of increased psychological distress, which can be detrimental to both the mother and the developing child. Digital interventions are cost-effective and accessible tools to support positive mental health in women during the perinatal period.
The dramatic rise in allergic disease has occurred in tandem with recent environmental changes and increasing indoor lifestyle culture. While multifactorial, one consistent allergy risk factor has been reduced sunlight exposure. However, vitamin D supplementation studies have been disappointing in preventing allergy, raising possible independent effects of ultraviolet (UV) light exposure.
Acute wheezing is one of the most common hospital presentations for young children. Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and rhinovirus (RV) species A, B and the more recently described species C are implicated in the majority of these presentations. However, the relative importance and age-specificities of these viruses have not been defined.
The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between a child's weight and a broad range of family and maternal factors.
There is a growing need for early biomarkers that may predict the development of atopic dermatitis (AD). As alterations in skin barrier may be a primary event in disease pathogenesis, epithelial cell (EC) cytokines expression patterns may be a potential biomarker in early life to target allergy preventive strategies towards "at-risk" infants. The aim of this longitudinal investigation was to examine from birth over the course of infancy levels of the EC cytokines: thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP), interleukin (IL)-33, IL-25, and IL-17 in infants at high-risk of AD due to maternal atopy.
This study aims to understand the experience and impact of the initial COVID-19 lock-down in young families with children aged below 4 years. Free text questions were administered to participants in the ORIGINS (Australia) and Born in Bradford (UK) cohort studies to collect qualitative information on worries, concerns and enjoyable experiences during the pandemic.
The potential for human-computer interaction to have a substantial impact on adults is well documented. However, its potential importance prior to birth has rarely been reported. Parental use of smartphones and tablet computers could influence the relationship between parent and baby during pregnancy (prenatal attachment) and thus child development.
This audit aimed to increase understanding of the long-term outcomes of evidence-based medical and surgical interventions to improve gross motor function in children and adolescents with Cerebral Palsy.