Karen M Klassen

Monash University (Australia) · Department of Infectious Diseases

Background: Poor dietary choices are a risk factor for non-communicable diseases. Young adults have low levels of engagement towards their health and may not see the importance in the adoption of healthy eating behaviours at this stage in their lives. Here we utilise social marketing principles, digital ethnography and online conversations to gain...

Background: Social media has been widely adopted by young adults, consequently health researchers are looking for ways to leverage this engagement with social media for the delivery of interventions and health promotion campaigns. Weight gain and sub-optimal dietary choices are common in young adults, and social media may be a potential tool to fa...

Background Despite persistent calls for HIV care to adopt a chronic care approach, few HIV treatment services have been able to establish service arrangements that prioritise self-management. To prevent cardiovascular and other chronic disease outcomes, the HealthMap program aims to enhance routine HIV care with opportunities for self-management su...

BACKGROUND Social media may have a significant role in influencing the present and future health implications amongst Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to examine the extent of health initiatives using social media that aimed to improve the health of Australian Aboriginal communities. MET...

Background: Social media may have a significant role in influencing the present and future health implications among Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, yet there has been no review of the role of social media in improving health. Objective: This study aims to examine the extent of health initiatives using social media that...

Background Obesity is a global health problem. Understanding how to utilise social media (SM) as a platform for intervention and engagement with young adults (YAs) will help the practitioners to harness this media more effectively for obesity prevention. Aim Communicating health (CH) aims to understand the use of SM by YAs, including Aboriginal YA...

Background: Health campaigns have struggled to gain traction with young adults using social media, even though more than 80% of young adults are using social media at least once per day. Many food industry and lifestyle brands have been successful in achieving high levels of user engagement and promoting their messages; therefore, there may be les...

Issue addressed: Affordability of a healthy diet is a determinant of nutritional intake and therefore health. This project aimed to measure the cost of healthy foods across a geographically defined region and examine factors related to changing food prices to assist in informing health promotion practice. Methods: The cost of a healthy food bask...

Background The leading causes of morbidity and mortality for people in high-income countries living with HIV are now non-AIDS malignancies, cardiovascular disease and other non-communicable diseases associated with ageing. This protocol describes the trial of HealthMap, a model of care for people with HIV (PWHIV) that includes use of an interactive...

Rationale: To see if vitamin D and antiretroviral therapy are associated with bone mineral density (BMD) in people with HIV. Result: Lower hip BMD was associated with tenofovir (an antiretroviral medicine) in those with 25(OH)D ≥50 nmol/L. Significance: The relationship between antiretroviral therapy and hip BMD differs depending on vitamin D statu...

Objectives: Low vitamin D status is associated with both increased disease progression and mortality in people with HIV receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART). However, data are lacking on effects of vitamin status on disease progression and CD4 cell count in people with HIV not receiving ART. We therefore evaluated effects of vitamin D deficiency...

Introduction This study aimed to determine the prevalence of gonorrhoea and factors associated with rectal gonorrhoea among men reporting sexual contact with men with gonorrhoea. Methods Men who presented to Melbourne Sexual Health Centre reporting sexual contact with a male with gonorrhoea were prospectively identified between March 2011 and Decem...

Vitamin D deficiency can have serious health consequences and may be particularly important for those living with HIV. It is unknown whether HIV infection is a risk factor for vitamin D deficiency. The aim of the study was to determine whether vitamin D deficiency is more common in HIV-infected than in HIV-uninfected individuals. This was a cross-s...

Unlabelled: Background Increasing the frequency of HIV testing in men who have sex with men (MSM) will reduce the incidence of HIV. Trends in HIV testing among MSM in Melbourne, Australia over the last 11 years have been investigated. Methods: A retrospective study was conducted using electronic medical records of the first presentation of MSM w...

This study aimed to determine the prevalence of gonorrhoea and factors associated with rectal gonorrhoea among men reporting sexual contact with men with gonorrhoea. Men who presented to Melbourne Sexual Health Centre reporting sexual contact with a male with gonorrhoea were prospectively identified between March 2011 and December 2013. These men w...

Low vitamin D status is associated with both increased disease progression and mortality in people with HIV receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART). However, data are lacking on effects of vitamin status on disease progression and CD4 cell count infected in people with HIV not receiving ART. We therefore evaluated effects of vitamin D deficiency (se...

This study aimed to document the vitamin D status of HIV-infected individuals across a wide latitude range in one country and to examine associated risk factors for low vitamin D. Using data from patients attending four HIV specialist clinics across a wide latitude range in Australia, we constructed logistic regression models to investigate risk fa...

Maintaining a good nutritional status is important for immune health and for managing metabolic comorbidities in adults with HIV infection. Little is known about the dietary habits of adults living with HIV infection in the United Kingdom. The aims of this study were to characterise their dietary intakes, and to identify subgroups of patients who m...

Tenofovir has been associated with renal phosphate wasting, reduced bone mineral density, and higher parathyroid hormone levels. The aim of this study was to carry out a detailed comparison of the effects of tenofovir versus non-tenofovir use on calcium, phosphate and, vitamin D, parathyroid hormone (PTH), and bone mineral density. A cohort study o...

Vitamin D-related biochemical and lifestyle characteristics in non-white males. (DOC)

Univariate associations with PTH concentrations. (DOC)

Nutrition support has long been ignored in China's HIV/AIDS treatment and care. The objectives of this project were to evaluate the prevalence of malnutrition among Chengdu urban HIV positive patients, and to provide evidence for further nutritional intervention. HIV-infected adults admitted to an infectious diseases inpatient unit were eligible fo...

This study aimed to systematically review the clinical efficacy of lipid emulsion containing fish oil in surgical patients. Medline, SCI, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Chinese Biomedicine Database were searched for studies published before January 1, 2009 that were randomized controlled trials for postoperative patients. Parenteral nutrition with o...