Publications

This study published in 2021 examines the associations of substance use disorders in pregnancy with a set of neonatal outcomes. Three linked datasets of a 10-year period (2007-2016) from New South Wales, Australia, were examined. Pregnant women were identified positive for substance use disorders when at least one hospital admission during pregnancy or delivery had opioid, or cannabis, or stimulant, or alcohol or two or more of the four substance groups related ICD-10-AM diagnostic code.

This study published in 2021 aimed to systematically review screening and assessment approaches and therapeutic interventions for young people with neurodevelopmental disorders in the youth justice system.

Abuse of methamphetamine (METH), an illicit psychostimulant, is a growing public health issue. METH abuse during pregnancy is on the rise due to its stimulant, anorectic, and hallucinogenic properties. METH can lead to multiple organ toxicity in adults, including neurotoxicity, cardiovascular toxicity, and hepatotoxicity. It can also cross the placental barrier and have long-lasting effects on the fetus. This review summarizes neurotoxicity, cardiovascular toxicity, hepatotoxicity, toxicity in other organs, and biomonitoring of prenatal METH exposure, as well as the possible emergence of sensitization associated with METH. The study proposed the importance of gut microbiota in studying prenatal METH exposure. There is rising evidence of the adverse effects of METH exposure during pregnancy, which are of significant concern.

The current clinical study published in 2021 examined the association between heavy PAE and indirect measures of adiposity in adolescence.

We conducted a systematic review to synthesize evidence regarding oral and written communication skills of adolescents with PAE or FASD and how they compare with those with no PAE. This study was published in 2021.

In this study, we examined macrostructure and microstructure elements in the oral and written narrative texts of 24 adolescent students of a youth detention centre. The students, who were aged 14- to 17- years, were all speakers of Standard Australian English, and 11 (46%) students met criteria for language disorder (LD). The outcomes of this study were published in 2021.