Clinical Research Directory

Impact of Different Types of Higher Dietary Protein Intake on Sleep Quality in Singapore Older Adults

Today, insufficient sleep has become a growing global problem. Sleep is essential to health and changes in sleep patterns are a part of the aging process. Inadequate and low-quality sleep also increases the risk for age-related cognitive decline and disease conditions. More importantly, due to COVID-19 health emergency, there is a significant increase of psychological distress and symptoms of mental illness and a worsening of quality of sleep. Therefore, there is an urgent need to investigate the way of improving sleep quality, in particular during and post COVID-19 period, in older adults. One of the possible strategies in improving sleep quality with lifestyle modification is having higher-protein diet. However, this effect has not been fully elucidated in older adults. In addition, the effect of type of dietary protein on sleep quality is inconclusive and there is no clinical trial which assessed the differential response in sleep quality between animal-sourced protein vs. plant-sourced protein. Therefore, the purpose of this research project is to assess the impact of different types of higher dietary protein intake on sleep quality in Singapore older adults. Findings from the proposed research will provide the scientific evidence of the beneficial effects of regularly consuming higher-protein diet on sleep quality in Singapore older adults. In addition, this research may validate the differential effect of different type of dietary protein on sleep quality. The results from the proposed research will also assist a practical guidance of nutritional behaviour changes providing sleep promoting effects to a large proportion of the Singapore population.

E-Bike Commuting and Health in Overweight College Students

This study will evaluate the effects of using a pedal-assist electric bicycle (e-bike) for commuting on physical activity, fitness, and health in overweight or obese college students. Participants will be randomly assigned to either a 12-week e-bike commuting intervention or a control group. The study will measure changes in cardiorespiratory fitness, body composition, blood biomarkers, physical activity, and psychological well-being over a 24-week period.

MOVI-OLE! [Open Learning Environments]

This study will evaluate the effectiveness of MOVI-OLE! (Open Learning Environment), a school-based intervention designed to reduce sedentary time and enhance multiple aspects of child development, including cognitive function, physical fitness, body composition, psychological well-being, and student engagement. The intervention combines dynamic classroom furniture with student-centered teaching practices. Additionally, a qualitative component will explore how students, teachers, and families perceive the feasibility and acceptability of implementing MOVI-OLE! in real-world school settings.

Impact of Ultra-processed Foods on Cardiometabolic Risk Factors

The goal of this clinical trial is to examine in a 2x2 factorial RCT what feature(s) of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) contribute to cardiometabolic risk in men and women. The project's hypotheses are : 1. that the nutrient composition of UPFs (high SFA, free sugar and sodium) per se has deleterious impacts on cardiometabolic risk factors; 2. that the industrial techniques and processes of UPFs per se do not. Participants will be randomly assigned to one of 4 groups consistent with the 2x2 factorial design of the study: 1- the nutrient composition of foods (low vs. high in SFA, free sugar and sodium) and 2- the degree of industrial techniques and food processing (little to no vs.important amounts of UPFs). All foods will be provided to participants under isocaloric conditions during the 6-week dietary intervention. Participants will have to consume one of the 4 experimental diets for 6 weeks.

The RISC Registry--Risk Informed Screening Registry

Chronic diseases such as heart disease, cancer, and diabetes are the leading causes of death and disability in the United States. Six in ten adults have one chronic disease; 4 in 10 have two or more. These are also leading drivers of the nation's $4.1 trillion in annual health care costs. Cardiovascular disease is the number one cause of death for men and women, cancer is the second largest, with breast cancer being the second largest cause of death in women. Diabetes is the 8th highest cause of death for both men and women. Routine screening, a focus on prevention, early detection, and patient engagement with proposed care plans, effective surveillance and follow up are some of the most effective ways to reduce the burden of chronic diseases across an individual's lifetime and at the population level. Estimating dollar costs associated with non-compliance with screening and health management recommendations is complex and variable depending on the specific context, disease, and condition. But there is much evidence to indicate that a significant amount of these annual costs can be mitigated if compliance with health management recommendations increases, and health problems are prevented or detected early. Access to screening and noncompliance with health management recommendations impact the entire population, but more disparities exist in racial and ethnic minorities and in the historically underserved for cancer, obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. The overall cost of these disparities in the U.S. has been estimated at around 1.24 trillion U.S. Dollars. The RISC Registry seeks to pursue the intersection of breast cancer, metabolic, and cardiovascular risk in women and study the application of individualized multi-condition risk assessments, risk-informed or personalized screening, prevention and follow up care approaches in a broad cross section of patients. It pursues the hypothesis that these approaches accompanied by population appropriate methods of clinician and patient engagement may increase understanding and compliance with breast cancer, obesity, and metabolic/cardiovascular/cardiometabolic risk screening, surveillance and follow up recommendations by empowering women to make healthier choices. In doing so, these methods may identify ways to address disparities in screening and patient care and ultimately promote early detection or even reversal of adverse health conditions, improve overall personal health, and reduce overall health care costs. The primary focus is cancer, cardiovascular and metabolic health screening with a focus on utilization of Precision Screening. (Precision Screening attempts to separate those who will benefit from screening from those that may not, through use of information on disease risk.) The study will start by focusing on women and risk for these diseases and health conditions.