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Research

Children arriving hungry in the first year of school: population trends in Australia from 2009 to 2021

Access to adequate nutrition is a human right. In 2023, 23% of Australian households were severely food insecure, reducing food intake, skipping meals or days of eating. Food insecurity in early childhood is linked to poor health and development. Specifically, breakfast provides children with the necessary nutrients required for sustained attention, memory, and cognitive growth. Australian research has reported that one in three children aged 8–18 years regularly skip breakfast. However, there is little understanding of the prevalence of food insecurity among young children in Australia.

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Type-2 diabetes epigenetic biomarkers: present status and future directions for global and Indigenous health

Type-2 diabetes is a systemic condition with rising global prevalence, disproportionately affecting Indigenous communities worldwide. Recent advances in epigenomics methods, particularly in DNA methylation detection, have enabled the discovery of associations between epigenetic changes and Type-2 diabetes. In this review, we summarise DNA methylation profiling methods, and discuss how these technologies can facilitate the discovery of epigenomic biomarkers for Type-2 diabetes. 

Research

Health and well-being needs of Indigenous adolescents: A protocol for a scoping review of qualitative studies

Improving the health of Indigenous adolescents is central to addressing the health inequities faced by Indigenous peoples. To achieve this, it is critical to understand what is needed from the perspectives of Indigenous adolescents themselves. There have been many qualitative studies that capture the perspectives of Indigenous young people, but synthesis of these has been limited to date. 

Research

Determination of Tr1 cell populations correlating with distinct activation states in acute IAV infection

Type I regulatory (Tr1) cells are defined as FOXP3-IL-10-secreting clusters of differentiation (CD4+) T cells that contribute to immune suppression and typically express the markers LAG-3 and CD49b and other co-inhibitory receptors. These cells have not been studied in detail in the context of the resolution of acute infection in the lung.

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Effective primary care management of type 2 diabetes for indigenous populations: A systematic review

Indigenous peoples in high income countries are disproportionately affected by Type 2 Diabetes. Socioeconomic disadvantages and inadequate access to appropriate healthcare are important contributors.

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Achieving cultural safety in genetic counseling for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia

Globally, Indigenous people, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia, experience significantly poorer health outcomes than their non-Indigenous counterparts. In part, this can be attributed to the ongoing impacts of colonization, marginalization, and systemic discrimination. In the genomic healthcare era, Indigenous people remain underrepresented in public genetic health services, raising concerns about cultural competency and inclusivity within the genetic counseling profession.

Research

Powerful Nunga mums, strong healthy Bibi and families: improving care, coordination, support and knowledge of women who experience cardiometabolic complications in pregnancy

The Model of Care supports the health of women and their babies with cardiometabolic complications of pregnancy and aids in the prevention and management of cardiometabolic disease in the short and long-term. It was co-designed by Aboriginal women with lived experiences of cardiometabolic complications in pregnancy.

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Reported processes and practices of researchers applying for human research ethics approval for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health research: a mixed methods study

To examine self-reported practices for obtaining ethics approval and reflections on ethics application processes among researchers who have conducted Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and medical research. 

Research

Islet autoimmunity in young First Nations women with prediabetes and type 2 diabetes

Type 1 diabetes in First Nations peoples is low yet type 2 diabetes is at epidemic proportions. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of islet autoimmunity in First Nations women with dysglycaemia and its association with clinical features.

Research

Consultation informs strategies for improving the use of functional evidence in variant classification

When investigating whether a variant identified by diagnostic genetic testing is causal for disease, applied genetics professionals evaluate all available evidence to assign a clinical classification. Functional assays of higher and higher throughput are increasingly being generated and, when appropriate, can provide strong functional evidence for or against pathogenicity in variant classification. Despite functional assay data representing unprecedented value for genomic diagnostics, challenges remain around the application of functional evidence in variant curation.