Improving Vitamin D status and related health in young women
Project overview
Vitamin D deficiency is:
- Looming as a major public health issue.
- Associated with risk of many chronic health conditions affecting millions of Australians, leading to considerable suffering, economic loss and premature death.
- An important health risk for young women: up to 50% of Australian women are below optimal vitamin D levels; however, many evidence gaps exist in this area.
In Part A, we will use state-of-the-art methods to measure circulating 25 hydroxyvitamin D (25 OHD; ie: D2 plus D3 metabolites) and its association with important clinical health indices, including musculoskeletal health; mood/mental health; and allergic disease, in young women.
In Part B, we will conduct the first clinical trial to assess the effectiveness and safety of a lifestyle intervention to improve vitamin D status and related health outcomes in young women.
- Innovative mobile and web-technologies (most piloted and operational) will be harnessed, to improve engagement, retention and data quality, and ease participant burden.
- This project builds on our recent highly-successful Young Female Health Initiative (YFHI) pilot study and numerous other successful studies with young women.
Project team
- John Wark (Royal Melbourne Hospital)
- Steve Howard
- Nicola Reavley (School of Population Health)
- Marie Pirotta (General Practice and Primary Health Care Academic Centre)
- George Varigos (Royal Melbourne Hospital)
Project information
| Funding source | NHMRC Grant APP1049065 |
|---|---|
| Project time frame | 2013–2015 |
