Guy B Marks

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..trial registration: actrn012606000304538...

..Regardless of how obstructive lung disease is labelled, targeting treatment to components of the problem is the best solution...

..Incorporate measures of spirometric function into health surveys of representative samples of the general population. Use spirometry in the diagnostic work-up of older patients with dyspnoea...

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..A study was undertaken to assess the importance of thunderstorms as a cause of epidemics of asthma exacerbations and to investigate the underlying mechanism...

..2) To assess factors associated with underuse of preventer medications and AMPs...

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..The aim of this study was to assess the burden of asthma and describe current asthma management in Australia...

..This study assessed the effectiveness of postmigration screening for the control of tuberculosis (TB) among refugee migrants...

..These effective interventions all included allergen-impermeable encasement of mattresses along with other strategies. In most trials where allergens levels were successfully reduced, there were clinical benefits for patients with asthma...

..Early life exposures may be important in the development of asthma and allergic disease...

..We aim to describe the steps taken prior to hospital attendance in patients with asthma and to identify patient or disease characteristics that were associated with failure to take appropriate actions...

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..Carotid extra-medial thickness is a new measure of arterial adventitial thickness. We examined the association of cardiovascular risk factors with extra-medial thickness, in childhood...

..In order to explore possible childhood antecedents to this association, we hypothesized that decreased lung function and vascular stiffness might be related, in early life...

..To study the association between childhood snoring and cardiovascular risk factors...

..Allergen-specific T(H)2-like cytokine responses are considered to be important in sensitization and allergic diseases...

..The effect of breastfeeding duration on subsequent asthma and allergy remains the subject of much controversy...

..This offers the prospect of reducing allergic disease in later life...

..Genetic factors are likely to modify the effect of those external factors...

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..The optimal method for conducting omega (n-)3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) supplementation trials in children is unknown...

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..To measure the prevalence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) among people aged 40 years or older in Australia...

..General practice is moving towards more structured chronic disease management, and the increasing involvement of practice nurses in delivering chronic care...

..As the determinants of arterial wall thickness in childhood are unknown, we assessed the influence of cardiovascular risk factors on CIMT in 8-year-old children...

..There is uncertainty about the nature of the relationship between mite allergen exposure during infancy and the expression of allergic diseases in childhood...

..Design, setting and participants: Cluster randomised controlled trial with blinded outcome assessment of 44 general practices in south-western Sydney comprising 451 people with a diagnosis of COPD, conducted between 2006 and 2009...

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..Although wheeze at this age may not be a good indicator of asthma in later childhood, it is encouraging that some symptoms have been reduced in children with high omega-3 fatty acid concentrations in plasma...

..Activation of the P2X(7) receptor on human macrophages induces killing of mycobacteria. We have identified polymorphisms in the P2X(7) gene that markedly reduce this killing...

..We aimed to determine the effects of maternal smoking in pregnancy on lipoprotein levels and arterial wall thickness in healthy pre-pubertal children...

..Follow-up to age 5 years, when the effect of the interventions on asthma risk will be assessed, is underway...

..The construction of a new road tunnel in Sydney, Australia, and concomitant reduction in traffic on a major road presented the opportunity to study the effects of this traffic intervention on respiratory health...

..These findings support the use of methods that highlight fine spatial variability in TRAP and demonstrate the utility of traffic interventions in reducing air pollution exposures for populations living close to main roads...

..No preventive strategy has been identified. We sought to determine whether dietary ω-3 fatty acid supplementation during early childhood prevents the association between impaired fetal growth and carotid arterial wall thickening...

..To estimate the incidence of recurrence of culture-positive tuberculosis (TB) and the relative contributions of reinfection and reactivation (based on DNA fingerprinting)...

..n-3 Fatty acid supplementation in adults results in cardiovascular benefits. However, the cardiovascular effects of n-3 supplementation in early childhood are unknown...

..To compare the effects of fluticasone and placebo on asthma control in patients with mild asthma...

..CONCLUSIONS: Hypertonic saline preceded by a bronchodilator is an inexpensive, safe, and effective additional therapy for patients with cystic fibrosis. (ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00271310.)..

..It remains to be seen whether this favourable trend will continue and extend into the adult age range...

..Epidemiological surveillance of tuberculosis (TB) in Australia is dependent on the accuracy of the notification data. We have investigated the specificity of TB notification for the diagnosis of this disease...

..We conducted a general population historical cohort study in all Australian States and Territories to establish the risk of TB arising in people on chronic hemo- or peritoneal dialysis...

..The difference in the effects of breast feeding according to the nature of the wheezing illness highlights the importance of the heterogeneity of illness phenotypes...

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..10). CONCLUSIONS: Having had a cat before 18 years of age protects against adult asthma and atopy...

..These interpretative equations should be based on data from cohort studies and randomised controlled trials, rather than cross-sectional studies, and if properly formulated, will prove to be valuable aids to clinical decision making...

..We conclude that treatment with budesonide enhances the perception of airway narrowing, but the effect is unrelated to budesonide dose, or to changes in circulating eosinophil markers...

..Linked hospital and ED data from New South Wales and Victoria, Australia, were used to examine reattendances for asthma...

..We proposed that comorbidity with DM is associated with an increased length of stay in patients admitted with AECOPD...

..Alternative forms of air conditioning to evaporative cooling may be useful for control of mite allergen in dry regions...

..Re-infection is less likely than re-activation, but still contributes significantly to the number of cases with recurrent disease...

..A strategic approach is needed to develop and implement strategies to address the impact of asthma on quality of life...

..Asthma is a common disease in childhood which results in a substantial burden of illness in Australia. This is manifest by distressing symptoms, impact on quality of life and role performance and health service utilisation...

..In adults, the prevalence is 5%-6%. Up to 80% of adults with persistent asthma have abnormal lung function. Asthma deaths in Australia have fallen 28% since peaking in 1989, but the mortality rate is still twice that of England...

..5-90.8), but these risk factors were weaker among non-Aboriginal children. CONCLUSIONS: Asthma and wheeze are equally prevalent in Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal children living in the same towns, but appear to have a different aetiology...

..To examine the association between intake of dairy products and indicators of diet quality among a sample of Australian children...

..Recent investigations in developed countries have found marked increases in the prevalence of allergic conditions...

..There are long-standing concerns about adverse effects of gas appliances on respiratory health. However, the potential adverse effect of low-NOx (nitrogen oxide) unflued gas heaters on children's health has not been assessed...

..Sensitization to ispaghula and/or senna was not a risk factor for asthma. An IgE-mediated allergic mechanism is probably responsible for the allergic symptoms in many of these subjects. Smoking seems to be a cofactor in this process...

..26 (95% CI, 1.14 to 1.39) after an increase in mean exposure of 100 spore/m(3)/d over 1 mo. These results suggest that Alternaria allergens contribute to severe asthma in regions where exposure to the fungus is high...

..To describe the change in the prevalence of wheeze, diagnosed asthma, and atopy in Wagga Wagga, NSW, Australia, between 1992 and 1997, and to compare this to the increase in prevalence reported between 1982 and 1992...

..Cord blood mononuclear cells have demonstrated specific immune responses to environmental allergens...

..Farms in Australia differ in scale and operation from those in Europe and the prevalence of allergic diseases in children is higher...

..Policy recommendations must consider evidence of the cost-effectiveness of various contact tracing strategies, and also incorporate complementary strategies to enhance case finding...

..We assessed evidence for disease modifying effects of statin treatment in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)...

..To explore what difficulties are faced by general practitioners (GPs) when trying to make a diagnosis of asthma in adults, and whether there are patient characteristics that influence this process...

..We present a conceptual model and test it with longitudinal survey data...

..Indigenous Australians die of asthma at more than three times the rate of the rest of the nation...

..Snoring may be part of the allergic spectrum of diseases. Our data may contribute to clinician's ability to effectively screen for snoring in preschool children...

..We assessed the interactive effect of sleep deprivation and time of day on performance and neurobehavioral function in subjects with and without mild OSA...

..A cohort of migrants to Australia (n = 7265) selected to be at increased risk of tuberculosis (TB) were assessed at the Liverpool Chest Clinic, Sydney, between 1984 and 2003...

..However, in males, airway narrowing is greater than that due to reduced lung volume alone. The mechanisms causing airway narrowing and sex differences in obesity are unknown...

..The results of this study may have important implications for public health policies to reduce the incidence of childhood asthma. Control Clin Trials 2001;22:333-354..

..Guidelines state that personal best PEF should be assessed over 2-3 weeks during good asthma control, but it is unclear how long to wait after commencing or changing treatment...

..It is not clear whether these dietary factors confer a direct risk of higher BMI in childhood or are markers for other dietary patterns that are present early and/or develop through childhood and contribute to higher BMI...

..An Australian metropolitan TB clinic where treatment for latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) comprises six months of isoniazid, self-administered but dispensed monthly by the clinic...

..001). Monitoring V(T) reduced CV of Rrs (p = 0.05). Complete breath filtering improved CV and ICC for both Rrs and Xrs. The repeatability of FOT measurements can be improved by optimising data acquisition and filtering...

..We suggest that such a model can be used to study the association between variable air pollutant exposures and health effects in epidemiological studies...

..In this paper, the burden of TB disease, current issues about disease control in developed countries including Australia and the contribution of molecular typing to improved understanding of TB epidemiology are reviewed...

..Contacts of tuberculosis patients are a high-risk group for developing the disease. Actively screening contacts of people with confirmed tuberculosis may improve case detection rates and control of the disease...

..08, 95% CI 1.31 to 3.31). CONCLUSION: If confirmed in other settings, this finding would require a review of the range of heating types that are appropriate for use in households in which young children live...

..The aim of this study was to identify these predictors, and to examine separately the effect of early sensitization on subsequent wheeze, asthma, rhinitis and eczema...

..No method can be considered as ideal for measuring individual exposure. For practicality, use of vacuum cleaner and Petri dish methods are recommended...

..Further work is required to understand the mechanism underlying the observed effects and to establish whether elements of this intervention may be clinically valuable in patients with severe asthma...

..However, even with these control measures in place, HDM allergen levels remained high by international standards...

..The 1960s epidemic was probably treatment related. Other increases in mortality occurring despite therapeutic advances may reflect increasing prevalence and highlight the need for ongoing surveillance...

..quot; The identification of particular questions that measure different respiratory conditions is important for epidemiologic studies when short questionnaires or more precise definitions are required...

..We conclude that lung function continues to grow after the cessation of height growth and that growth in FEV(1) is reduced in subjects with AHR and/or recent wheeze...

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..Should these responses prove relevant to the modulation of allergic diseases, it provides new opportunities to better understand the epidemic of allergic disease and to develop new interventions for its prevention...

..Cumulative likelihood ratios are more valuable than odds ratios for quantifying risk in individuals and for identifying people with most to gain from preventive interventions...

..A study was undertaken to determine if the perception of airway narrowing changes during the reduction of inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) dose or during an asthma exacerbation...

..These findings suggest that documentation of patient's AHR or sputum eosinophils may be useful in guiding the reduction of ICS doses...

..However, we did not find evidence of an increased risk of adverse perinatal outcomes...

..Although longer duration of breastfeeding and later introduction of solid foods are both recommended for the prevention of asthma and allergic disease, evidence to support these recommendations is controversial...