Biomedical subjects

Lauren Williams

Publications and source records attributed to Lauren Williams.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2026

Effect of brewers' yeast or beta-glucan derived from Saccharomyces cerevisiae on breast milk supply following preterm birth: the BLOOM randomised controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE: Breast milk is the optimal source of nutrition for preterm infants; however, low breast milk production is common following a preterm birth. This study aimed to determine if taking brewers' yeast or beta-glucan improves daily expressed breast milk volume. DESIGN: Randomised, blinded, parallel, placebo-controlled trial. SETTING: Three Australian tertiary-level neonatal units. PATIENTS: Mothers with a singleton or twin pregnancy who gave birth at <34 weeks' gestation. INTERVENTIONS: Mothers were randomised within 72 hours of birth into three parallel groups in a 1:1:1 ratio to receive either brewers' yeast, beta-glucan or placebo capsules for 7 days. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Total expressed breast milk volume over a 24-hour period on day 7 of intervention. RESULTS: A total of 105 mothers underwent randomisation between August 2022 and April 2024 (36 brewers' yeast, 35 beta-glucan and 34 placebo). The adjusted mean difference in daily expressed breast milk volume was 94 mL/day (95% CI -51 mL/day to 239 mL/day) between the brewers' yeast and placebo groups and -25 mL/day (95% CI -173 mL/day to 123 mL/day) between the beta-glucan and placebo groups. Maternal side effects were similar across groups. CONCLUSION: We found no clear effect of short-term administration of brewers' yeast or beta-glucan on breast-milk production following preterm birth; both interventions were well tolerated. Given the small sample size, these findings do not rule out the possibility of a clinically meaningful benefit of brewers' yeast and suggest further research with a larger sample size may be warranted to clarify the potential clinical impact. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: ACTRN12622000968774.

Intensive Care Units, Neonatal↗

PubMed2005

Identifying the energy gap: magnitude and determinants of 5-year weight gain in midage women.

OBJECTIVE: The aims of this study were to estimate average yearly weight gain in midage women and to identify the determinants of weight gain and gaining weight at double the average rate. RESEARCH METHODS AND PROCEDURES: The study sample comprised 8071 participants (45 to 55 years old) in the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health who completed mailed surveys in 1996, 1998, and 2001. RESULTS: On average, the women gained almost 0.5 kg per year [average 2.42 kg (95% confidence interval, 2.29 to 2.54) over 5 years]. In multivariate analyses, variables associated with energy balance (physical activity, sitting time, and energy intake), as well as quitting smoking, menopause/hysterectomy, and baseline BMI category were significantly associated with weight gain, but other behavioral and demographic characteristics were not. After adjustment for all of the other biological and behavioral variables, the odds of gaining weight at about twice the average rate (>5 kg over 5 years) were highest for women who quit smoking (odds ratio = 2.94; 95% confidence interval, 2.17, 3.96). There were also independent relationships between the odds of gaining >5 kg and lower levels of habitual physical activity, more time spent sitting, energy intake (but only in women with BMI > 25 at baseline), menopause transition, and hysterectomy. DISCUSSION: The average weight gain equates with an energy imbalance of only about 10 kcal or 40 kJ per day, which suggests that small sustained changes in the modifiable behavioral variables could prevent further weight gain.

Age Factors↗

PubMed2000

Hoarding: a community health problem.

Hoarding behaviour has been defined as the accumulation of possessions that are useless and that interfere with the ability to function. Severe hoarding may endanger not only the health and safety of the individual, but also their surrounding community. However, little information exists regarding the frequency and seriousness of this problem. This study represents the first attempt to determine the frequency of complaints about hoarding behaviour to responding health departments in one state (Massachusetts) and to explore the nature of these complaints. Eighty-eight health officers, serving a population of 1.79 million people, responded to a survey of complaints to local boards of health about hoarding behaviour. Sixty-four percent of the health officers reported at least one hoarding complaint during the five years under study; 471 case complaints were reported. In-depth information on the nature and circumstances of complaints was collected for 58 cases. Complaints typically involved multiple community agencies and occasionally resulted in significant cost to the community. Only half of the hoarders recognized the lack of sanitation in their home, and fewer than one third of complainants willingly co-operated to resolve the complaint against them. Hoarding behaviours were judged to seriously jeopardize the health of the individual and those around them. Hoarding behaviour that involved collecting animals was more serious and difficult to deal with than non-animal hoarding.

Journal Article↗