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Introduction
Additional affiliations
April 2002 - present
January 2005 - December 2012
January 2002 - December 2012
University of Newcastle
Publications
Publications (333)
Background
Vegan and vegetarian dietary patterns are known to beneficially modulate risk factors for cardiovascular disease; however, the current literature does not differentiate between various plant-based diets. This study aimed to examine the association between various plant-based diets and plasma lipids and glycaemic indices compared to a reg...
Background
Higher cruciferous vegetable intake is associated with lower cardiovascular disease risk in observational studies. The pathways involved remain uncertain. We aimed to determine whether cruciferous vegetable intake (active) lowers 24-h brachial systolic blood pressure (SBP; primary outcome) compared to root and squash vegetables (control)...
The Western dietary pattern, rich in energy-dense, nutrient-poor, and highly processed foods, provides a unique combination of nutrients that have been suggested to increase the risk of chronic respiratory diseases, as well as acute respiratory tract infections. This pattern of eating is characterised by higher intakes of total and saturated fatty...
Community screening for sarcopenia is complex, with barriers including access to specialized equipment and trained staff to conduct body composition, strength and function assessment. In the current study, self-reported dietary protein intake and physical activity (PA) in adults ≥65 years was assessed relative to sarcopenia risk, as determined by b...
Plant-based diets (PBDs) have been associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). The aim was to investigate the predicted 5-year and 10-year risk of developing CVD in individuals following PBDs compared to regular meat-eating diets. This cross-sectional study included n = 240 middle-aged adults habitually consuming dietary patterns...
Maintaining muscle mass, strength, and function is crucial for our aging population. Exercise and dietary protein intake are recommended strategies; however, animal proteins have been the most studied. Plant-based protein sources have lower digestibility and incomplete amino acid profiles. However new innovative plant-based proteins and products ma...
Introduction
Traditional dietary assessment methods such as 24-hour recalls and food frequency questionnaires rely on self-reported data and are prone to error, bias and inaccuracy. Identification of dietary metabolites associated with different dietary patterns can provide objective markers of whole diet patterns that account for metabolism and in...
Introduction:
Approximately 15%-20% of the adult population self-report symptoms of addictive eating. There are currently limited options for management. Motivational interviewing-based interventions, containing personalised coping skills training, have been found to be effective for behaviour change in addictive disorders (eg, alcohol). This proj...
Evidence suggests that diet can play a role in modulating systemic inflammation. This study aims to examine the relationship between fatty acids (FAs) (self-reported dietary intake and red blood cell (RBC) membrane fatty acid concentrations), three diet quality scores, and the plasma concentrations of inflammatory markers (interleukin-6, IL-6; tumo...
Medicinal mushroom extracts (MMEs) exert immunomodulatory effects on innate immunity. The present study aimed to examine the effect of medicinal mushroom components on in vitro immune cell responses to inflammatory stimuli by peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) isolated from older adults, where immune function is altered. PBMCs were treated...
Background
Obesity is associated with more severe asthma, however, the mechanisms responsible are poorly understood. Obesity is also associated with low-grade systemic inflammation; it is possible that this inflammation extends to the airways of adults with asthma, contributing to worse asthma outcomes. Accordingly, the aim of this review was to ex...
Background:
Skeletal muscle mass (SMM) has been suggested to be associated with multiple health-related outcomes. However, the potential influence of SMM on asthma has not been largely explored.
Objective:
To study the association between SMM and clinical features of asthma, including asthma control and exacerbation, and to construct a model bas...
Background:
Dyslipidemia has been widely documented to be associated with cardiovascular disease, and recent studies have found an association with asthma prevalence. However, longitudinal studies investigating the relationships between dyslipidemia, asthma phenotypes and future asthma exacerbations (AEs) are lacking.
Objective:
To investigate t...
Research suggests exercise may reduce eosinophilic airway inflammation in adults with asthma. The Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII®) quantifies the inflammatory potential of the diet and has been associated with asthma outcomes. This study aimed to determine whether the DII of a meal consumed either before or after exercise influences exercise-induc...
Children with asthma are at risk of acute exacerbations triggered mainly by viral infections. A diet high in fruit and vegetables (F&V), a rich source of carotenoids, may improve innate immune responses in children with asthma. Children with asthma (3–11 years) with a history of exacerbations and low F&V intake (≤3 serves/d) were randomly assigned...
Rationale:
Exercise is associated with improvements in asthma, however the mechanisms responsible are not clear. Exercise induces changes in systemic inflammation, and it is possible that these inflammatory effects extend to the airways of people with asthma. Studies in healthy adults suggest inflammatory responses are dependent on exercise intens...
Purpose:
The molecular links between metabolism and inflammation that drive different inflammatory phenotypes in asthma are poorly understood. We aimed to identify the metabolic signatures and underlying molecular pathways of different inflammatory asthma phenotypes.
Methods:
In the discovery set (n = 119), untargeted ultra-high-performance liqu...
Background and objective:
Severe asthma (SA) is a heterogeneous disease. Transcriptomic analysis contributes to the understanding of pathogenesis necessary for developing new therapies. We sought to identify and validate mechanistic pathways of SA across two independent cohorts.
Methods:
Transcriptomic profiles from U-BIOPRED and Australian NOVo...
Background
Obesity-related complications including visceral fat, metabolic abnormalities, nutrient deficiencies, and immune perturbations are interdependent but have been individually associated with childhood asthma.
Objective
To endotype childhood obesity-related asthma by quantifying contributions of obesity-related complications to symptoms an...
Lactoferrin (Lf) is a glycoprotein present in human and bovine milk with anti-microbial and immune modulating properties. This review aimed to examine the evidence for the effect of Lf supplementation on inflammation, immune function, and respiratory tract infections (RTIs) in humans. Online databases were searched up to December 2020 to identify r...
An emerging body of evidence suggests that diet plays an important role in both the development and management of asthma. The relationship between dietary intake and asthma risk has been explored in epidemiological studies, though intervention trials examining the effects of nutrient intake and dietary patterns on asthma management are scarce. Evid...
Background
Chronic low-grade systemic inflammation (SI), including activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome, is a feature of obesity, associated with increased circulating saturated fatty acids, such as palmitic acid (PA), and bacterial endotoxin lipopolysaccharide (LPS). PA and LPS may contribute to SI observed in obesity, while the dietary antioxidan...
Background:
Chronic low-grade systemic inflammation is a characteristic of obesity that leads to various non-communicable diseases. Weight loss and SCFAs are potential strategies for attenuating obese systemic inflammation.
Methods:
Blood samples were collected from 43 obese subjects (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2) scheduled for laparoscopic bariatric sleeve s...
Background
Obesity is a risk factor for asthma and obese asthmatics are more likely to have severe, steroid-insensitive disease. How obesity affects the pathogenesis and severity of asthma is poorly understood. Roles for increased inflammasome-mediated neutrophilic responses, type-2 immunity and eosinophilic inflammation have been described.
Objec...
Background
Neutrophilic asthma (NA) is a clinically important asthma phenotype, the cellular and molecular basis of which is not completely understood. Airway macrophages are long‐lived immune cells that exert important homeostatic and inflammatory functions which are dysregulated in asthma. Unique transcriptomic programmes reflect varied macrophag...
Background: The molecular links between metabolism and inflammation that drive different inflammatory phenotypes in asthma are poorly understood. Objectives: To identify the metabolic signatures and underlying molecular pathways of different inflammatory asthma phenotypes. Method: In the discovery set (n=119), untargeted ultra-high performance liqu...
Prebiotics, synbiotics and short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) have been shown to decrease systemic inflammation and play a protective role in chronic respiratory conditions. However, the effect on infection and immune function are unclear. The objective of this systematic review was to summarise the current evidence for prebiotic, synbiotic and SCFA su...
Introduction
The significance of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress in asthma is unclear. Here, we demonstrate that ER stress and the unfolded protein response (UPR) are related to disease severity and inflammatory phenotype.
Methods
Induced sputum (n=47), bronchial lavage (n=23) and endobronchial biopsies (n=40) were collected from participants wi...
Background
A high fruit and vegetable (F&V) diet reduces asthma exacerbations in adults; this has not been examined in children to date.
Objective
To investigate the effect of a 6-month, high F&V diet on the time to first asthma exacerbation in children with asthma, in a parallel group, randomised, controlled trial.
Methods
Children (aged 3-11 ye...
Adults with obesity exhibit a restrictive pattern, whereas children with obesity exhibit an obstructive pattern. However, the transition process remains unclear. We performed a systematic search for studies reporting on body mass index and pulmonary function in children. The main outcomes were forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1), forced vital ca...
Background
Asthma is the most frequent cause of hospitalisation among children; however, little is known regarding the effects of asthma on immune responses in children.
Objective
The present study aimed to evaluate cytokine responses of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), PBMC composition and lung function in children with and without ast...
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is the third commonest cause of death globally, and manifests as a progressive inflammatory lung disease with no curative treatment. The lung microbiome contributes to COPD progression, but the function of the gut microbiome remains unclear. Here we examine the faecal microbiome and metabolome of COPD pa...
Urinary polyphenol metabolites are potential biomarkers of dietary polyphenol intake. The current study aims to evaluate associations between total diet, vegetable and fruit polyphenol intakes with urinary polyphenol metabolite concentrations in a sample of adults prescribed a diet rich in vegetables and fruit. Thirty-four participants completed a...
Background:
Obesity is a common co-morbidity in asthma and associated with poorer asthma control, more frequent/severe exacerbations, and reduced response to asthma pharmacotherapy.
Objective:
This review aims to compare use of all classes of asthma medications in obese (BMI≥30 kg·m-2) versus healthy weight (BMI<25 kg·m-2) subjects with asthma....
Background: Although studies have consistently linked obesity and asthma, the potential influence of visceral obesity on asthma has not been well investigated. Objective: To study the associations of visceral fat area (VFA) and clinical and inflammatory features of asthma and to further explore the effects of VFA on the future risk of asthma exacer...
Aim
To investigate associations between changes in vegetable and fruit (V&F) intakes and anthropometric indices (weight, BMI, % body fat, waist circumference), including differences by sex, during a dietary weight‐loss intervention.
Methods
Adults (18‐45 years) with overweight/obesity (BMI 25‐35 kg/m²) entered a 10‐week pre‐post study, receiving i...
Obesity is a significant public health problem worldwide, and it has been identified as an independent risk factor for asthma in both adults and children. Not only does obesity increase asthma risk, but it is also associated with decreased asthma-related quality of life, worsened symptoms and asthma control, increased frequency and severity of asth...
The prevalence of obesity in asthmatic children is high and is associated with worse clinical outcomes. We have previously reported that weight loss leads to improvements in lung function and asthma control in obese asthmatic children. The objectives of this secondary analysis were to examine: (1) changes in diet quality and (2) associations betwee...
Introduction/Aim: Patients with asthma are more susceptible to a broad range of common viral respiratory infections; however, little is known regarding the effects of asthma on immune responses to viral and bacterial stimulants in children. The present study aimed to examine the differences in cytokine responses of peripheral blood mononuclear cell...
Introduction/Aim: Children with asthma are at risk of acute flare-ups, which are most commonly triggered by virus infections. The present study was conducted to assess the effects of a high fruit and vegetable (F&V) diet on innate immune responses of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) in children with asthma (3-11 years). Methods: Asthmatic...
Background and objective:
Severe asthma is responsible for a disproportionate burden of illness and healthcare costs spent on asthma. This study analyses sputum transcriptomics to investigate the mechanisms and novel treatment targets of severe asthma.
Methods:
Induced sputum samples were collected in a cross-sectional study from participants wi...
Background and aims:
Chronic conditions such as obesity, which contribute to endothelial dysfunction in older adults, can cause impairments in cerebrovascular perfusion, which is associated with accelerated cognitive decline. Supplementing the diet with bioactive nutrients that can enhance endothelial function, such as fish oil or curcumin, may he...
Asthma is a highly prevalent inflammatory disease of the airways. Bacterial metabolites of soluble fibre fermentation, such as short chain fatty acids (SCFAs), have been shown to exert anti-inflammatory effects via free fatty acid receptor activation and epigenetic regulation through inhibition of histone deacetylases (HDACs). The aim of the presen...
Background:
Dysfunction of the bronchial epithelium plays an important role in asthma; however, its measurement is challenging. Columnar epithelial cells are often quantified, yet rarely analysed, in induced sputum studies.
Objective:
We aimed to test whether sputum columnar epithelial cell proportion and count are altered in asthma, and whether...
Background:
Soluble fibre modulates airway inflammation in animal models. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of soluble fibre supplementation, with and without a probiotic, on plasma short chain fatty acids (SCFA), airway inflammation, asthma control and gut microbiome in adults with asthma.
Methods:
A randomised, double-blinde...
Objectives:
The objective of this systematic review was to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions that include a nutrition component aimed at improving gestational weight gain and/or postpartum weight retention.
Introduction:
Excessive gestational weight gain and postpartum weight retention increase the risk of adverse maternal and neonatal...
Obesity is an important risk factor for severe asthma exacerbations, which are mainly caused by respiratory infections. Dietary fatty acids, which are increased systemically in obese patients and are further increased after high-fat meals, affect the innate immune system and may contribute to dysfunctional immune responses to respiratory infection....
It is estimated that over 80% of the global population is exposed to unacceptably high levels of air pollution, which can have damaging health effects. In fact, according to the most recent analysis of the global burden of diseases (2015), particulate matter (PM) air pollution exposure alone is the 5th leading risk factor for mortality worldwide, a...
Short chain fatty acids (SCFAs), produced as by-products of dietary fibre metabolism by gut bacteria, have anti-inflammatory properties and could potentially be used for the treatment of inflammatory diseases, including asthma. The direct effects of SCFAs on inflammatory responses in primary human lung mesenchymal cells have not been assessed. We i...
Background
The obesity paradox in COPD describes protective effects of obesity on lung pathology and inflammation. However, the underlying relationships between obesity, diet and disease outcomes in COPD are not fully understood. In this study we measured the response to dietary fatty acids upon markers of inflammation and remodelling in human lung...
Purpose:
Obesity is associated with metabolic dysregulation, but the underlying metabolic signatures involving clinical and inflammatory profiles of obese asthma are largely unexplored. We aimed at identifying the metabolic signatures of obese asthma.
Methods:
Eligible subjects with obese (n = 11) and lean (n = 22) asthma underwent body composit...
Association between clinical characteristics and differential metabolites
Association airway inflammation mediators and differential metabolites
MetaboAnalyst Pathway Impact based on selected and more representative metabolites responsible for the class separation in sputum samples (A), serum samples (B), respectively. Circles represent metabolic pathways potentially involved in class separation.
Association between obesity assessment and differential metabolites
Background & aims:
A brief assessment tool on frequency and variety of fruit and vegetable intake could provide a cost-effective and sustainable approach to improving diet. The primary aim was to evaluate the comparative validity of a brief index of Fruit And Vegetable VAriety (FAVVA) relative to food and nutrient intakes derived from a comprehens...
Study Objectives
Phytochemicals from fruits and vegetables have been shown to reduce systemic inflammation. This study examined the effects of an encapsulated fruit and vegetable juice concentrate on risk factors for chronic disease in overweight and obese adults.
Methods
A double‐blinded, parallel, randomised placebo‐controlled trial was conducte...