Contact information
| jennifer.hirst@phc.ox.ac.uk | |
| Tel | +44 (0)1865 617945 |
My connections
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St Cross College
College
- Diabetes and long-term conditions Research Group
- Medical Statistics Group Research Group
Jennifer Hirst
BSc MSc
NIHR Doctoral Research Fellow
- Senior Systematic Reviewer and Research Officer
My research focusses primarily on diabetes.
There are currently over 3 million people in the UK who are living with diabetes and this number is forecast to increase to over 5 million by 2025 making diabetes and it's associated complications a major concern to healthcare providers and a huge financial burden. Optimisation of the treatment and care of people with diabetes is therefore important to help to ease this burden.
My doctoral fellowship is focussing on monitoring of glycated haemoglobin or HbA1c in primary care, specifically looking at whether use of point-of-care testing could improve the patient-clinician encounter and diabetes control. I have also recently been working with GP practices in the Thames Valley to gather data from patients who are having frequent measurements of their HbA1c to understand how quickly people's diabetes control changes after a change in diabetes medication. This work will improve our understanding of how HbA1c changes in response to a new diabetes medication and may even help to identify certain patients who may benefit from being tested more frequently.
In addition to this I have conducted several systematic reviews and meta-analyses looking at how ACE inhibitors affect development of early kidney disease in people with diabetes, and how much certain commonly used diabetes medications (metformin and sulfonylureas) improve diabetes control.
Key Publications
5-
Changes in HbA1c level over a 12-week follow-up in patients with type 2 diabetes following a medication change
Hirst JA. et al, (2014), PLoS ONE, 9
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The impact of renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system inhibitors on Type 1 and Type 2 diabetic patients with and without early diabetic nephropathy
Hirst JA. et al, (2012), Kidney International, 81, 674 - 683
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The need for randomization in animal trials: An overview of systematic reviews
Hirst JA. et al, (2014), PLoS ONE, 9
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Quantifying the effect of metformin treatment and dose on glycemic control
Hirst JA. et al, (2012), Diabetes Care, 35, 446 - 454
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Efficacy of sulfonylurea treatment for glycaemic control in diabetes: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Farmer AJ. et al, (2012), DIABETOLOGIA, 55, S324 - S325
Recent Publications
8-
Short- and medium-term effects of light to moderate alcohol intake on glycaemic control in diabetes mellitus: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized trials.
Hirst JA. et al, (2016), Diabet Med
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Global prevalence of chronic kidney disease - A systematic review and meta-analysis
Hill NR. et al, (2016), PLoS ONE, 11
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Optimal strategies for monitoring lipid levels in patients at risk or with cardiovascular disease: A systematic review with statistical and cost-effectiveness modelling
Perera R. et al, (2015), Health Technology Assessment, 19
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Quantifying the effects of diuretics and β-adrenoceptor blockers on glycaemic control in diabetes mellitus - A systematic review and meta-analysis
Hirst JA. et al, (2015), British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, 79, 733 - 743
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Frequency of HbA1c test requests in primary care: an analysis of hospital laboratory data
Hirst JA. et al, (2015), DIABETIC MEDICINE, 32, 169 - 170
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A systematic review and meta-analysis of the effects of diuretics and beta-blockers on glycaemic control in diabetes mellitus
Hirst JA. et al, (2014), DIABETOLOGIA, 57, S491 - S491
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The need for randomization in animal trials: An overview of systematic reviews
Hirst JA. et al, (2014), PLoS ONE, 9
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Diagnostic accuracy of point-of-care tests for detecting albuminuria: A systematic review and meta-analysis
McTaggart MP. et al, (2014), Annals of Internal Medicine, 160, 550 - 557