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Understanding interactions between vascular-bone health in The Gambia, West Africa

Description 
Both osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease share common risk factors, yet both remain undiagnosed until a major life-threatening event occurs, e.g. heart failure or fragility fracture. Due to the current rapid social, economic and demographic (rural-urban migration) transition in The Gambia, prevalence of these diseases have increased with serious consequences on daily living (falls and fractures). Utilising the clinical gold-standard tool for osteoporosis diagnosis, the DXA scanner, abdominal aortic plaque build-up will be quantified in lateral vertebral scans in over 1000 participants; associations with bone and muscle health will be explored.
Essential criteria: 
Minimum entry requirements can be found here: https://www.monash.edu/admissions/entry-requirements/minimum
Keywords 
cardiovascular, bone, DXA, plaque, aortic plaque, calcification, osteoporosis, fracture
School 
School of Clinical Sciences at Monash Health / Hudson Institute of Medical Research
Available options 
PhD/Doctorate
Time commitment 
Full-time
Top-up scholarship funding available 
No
Physical location 
Monash Medical Centre Clayton
Co-supervisors 
Prof 
Peter Ebeling

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