Health Report - Separate stories podcast

VicHealth is the world's first health promotion foundation, with the goal of preventing people from becoming unwell. The Victorian Government plans to absorb the foundation into the government, threatening its independence. Also, an agency in the United States changes its recommendations around hepatitis B vaccination in babies. 

Up to 30 per cent of Australian adults could be living with metabolic associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD).Most of those people won’t be aware they have the condition, and for those that are aware, the diagnosis can come as a shock.So what can be done to treat fatty liver disease? And can it be reversed entirely?Guest/sProfessor James O’Beirne, consultant hepatologist at Sunshine Coast University Hospital in Queensland ReferencesEating For Your Liver - Liver Foundation

While Australia is still determined to eliminate cervical cancer by 2035, there are early warning signs emerging.Rates of vaccination against HPV, the commonest cause of nearly all cervical cancers, have fallen. And they’re still lagging in boys.Experts suggest school vaccination programs are struggling because of rising absenteeism.They want more young people to know that they can receive a free HPV vaccine up to age 25.Guest/sProfessor Julia Brotherton, cancer prevention policy and implementation at the University of Melbourne References2025 Cervical Cancer Elimination Progress Report

A study has found Indigenous babies in remote Australia are born with more diverse gut bacteria. While this is a key marker of health, it's still unclear why these babies will grow up to have an increased risk of chronic disease. It highlights how Westernisation could be having a detrimental impact on the health on First Nations people. Guest/sProfessor Leonard Harrison, the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research and the University of MelbourneReferencesIndigenous infants in remote Australia retain an ancestral gut microbiome despite encroaching Westernization

A look at some of the Health Report correspondence this week.You can email us at healthreport@abc.net.au

Another study looking into the wide-reaching benefits of the shingles vaccine suggests it can stave off mild cognitive impairment and even slow down the course of dementia. Also, the World Health Organization (WHO) releases its guidelines for the use of GLP-1s in overweight and obesity. And updated advice for prescribing these medications when it comes to birth control and mental health. ReferencesThe effect of shingles vaccination at different stages of the dementia disease course WHO issues global guideline on the use of GLP-1 medicines in treating obesity Product warnings updated for GLP-1 RA class - TGA 

For many women, getting an intra-uterine device (IUD) inserted is a painful and scary experience.The level of pain relief offered can depend on the clinic and can be restricted by out-of-pocket costs the patient can’t afford.A trial is underway in Victoria offering a free pain-relieving "green whistle" to public patients, after a state enquiry into women’s pain.Guest/sDr Felicity Dent, GP and a board member for Pelvic Pain VictoriaReferencesInquiry into Women's Pain - Victorian GovernmentGovt backs green whistle during IUD insertion in response to women’s pain inquiry

Everything from your height to your heart disease risk can be determined by your genes and your environment.A major study looked at 34 characteristics and diseases to ask, how much can genetics determine?In some cases the environment – where you live, how you live and what you eat – had more sway than previously thought.Guest/sProfessor Loic Yengo, group leader at the Statistical Genomics Laboratory at the University of Queensland ReferencesEstimation and mapping of the missing heritability of human phenotypes

Both antibiotics and vaccines can be life-saving medicines, but it turns out they don’t necessary play nice together.New research suggests direct antibiotics in early life can make a baby’s response to vaccination weaker.

A look at some of the Health Report correspondence this week.You can email us at healthreport@abc.net.au

Changes mean supplements containing more than 50mg of vitamin B6 will need to be bought over the counter with advice from a pharmacist.But the changes won't come into affect for another year and a half. The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) says industry needs time to prepare. Also, the H5N1 strain of bird flu lands on Australian territory for the first time. Are we prepared for it on the mainland?And for the first time we get accurate numbers of how many people are living with metastatic breast cancer.ReferencesStronger safety controls to be introduced for products containing vitamin B6 - TGABird flu confirmed in elephant seal population at Heard IslandDecades of data missing: Metastatic breast cancer cases double previous estimates

CT scans can be vital in diagnosing disease, but they do come with small increased risks because of the radiation exposure.A recent US study found that  if current practices persist, CT-associated cancer could account for up to five per cent of all new diagnoses.So what can be done to drive down the risk? One radiologist thinks mandating informed consent before a scan is done would be a good start.Guest/sDr John de Campo, radiologist and Associate Professor in Radiology at the University of Melbourne ReferencesProjected Lifetime Cancer Risks From Current Computed Tomography ImagingStudy on current CT scanning practices and the incidence of future cancersResponse from the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists:RANZCR supports increased access to MRI where appropriate for the patient’s clinical condition.RANZCR supports the ALARA principle, which means As Low As Reasonably Achievable in relation to radiation dose reduction. RANZCR advocates for appropriate use of CT and other imaging – i.e. imaging should only be used where valid clinical indications are present. In this way, use of radiation and other risks from imaging procedures is minimised.RANZCR supports informed patient consent and has a guideline, Medical Imaging Informed Consent Guidelines.

Psoriasis is an autoimmune condition that causes red, scaly patches on the skin.But evidence is emerging that psoriasis goes more than skin deep, and can have effects on metabolism and heart health.Given the condition is systemic yet incurable, what should people do to keep symptoms under control?Guest/sDr Annika Smith, consultant dermatologist in SydneyReferencesMediterranean Diet and Patients With Psoriasis: The MEDIPSO Randomized Clinical Trial

It’s a question dentists get a lot: what inspired you to get a job where you look in people’s mouths all day?We take a class at the University of Sydney’s school of dentistry to get a sense of what draws people to dentistry.

A look at some of the Health Report correspondence this week.You can email us at healthreport@abc.net.au

A Senate committee has handed down 47 recommendations after an inquiry into the extent, regulation and management of PFAS "forever chemicals".Also a major journal publishes a series on the issue of ultra-processed foods which have been associated with a range of chronic health conditions. And results from a drug company-funded trial looking at a pill version of a GLP-1, as the race to develop oral treatments ramps up. ReferencesPFAS inquiry hands down 47 recommendations to better regulate 'forever chemicals' in Australia - ABC News The Lancet series on ultra-processed foodsOrforglipron, an oral small-molecule GLP-1 receptor agonist, for the treatment of obesity in people with type 2 diabetes (ATTAIN-2): a phase 3, double-blind, randomised, multicentre, placebo-controlled trial

It has long been thought that caffeine exacerbates abnormal heart rhythms.However in the first trial of its kind, researchers have compared a cup of coffee to complete abstinance from caffeine – and the results surprised them.The outcomes means patients with atrial fibrillation can have a cup of joe without worrying they’re doing harm.Guest/sProfessor Chris Wong, cardiologist at the University of Adelaide and Royal Adelaide HospitalReferencesCaffeinated Coffee Consumption or Abstinence to Reduce Atrial Fibrillation: The DECAF Randomized Clinical Trial

The guidelines for asthma care in adolescents and adults have been changed, but what about children?Children aged six to 11 years are still being prescribed the blue puffer as first-line therapy, while older people are prescribed a combination inhaler with a corticosteroid.Now a major New Zealand study published in the Lancet suggests children should also be swapped over to a combined inhaler to reduce asthma attacks.Guest/sDr Paul Robinson, Professor of Respiratory and Sleep Medicine at Queensland Children’s Hospital and a Research Leader at the Woolcock Research InstituteReferencesBudesonide–formoterol versus salbutamol as reliever therapy in children with mild asthma (CARE): a 52-week, open-label, multicentre, superiority, randomised controlled trial

Liquid biopsies are tests that look for traces of cancer in bodily fluids like blood, urine and saliva.The hope is these non-invasive biopsies become more widespread to pick up and and track cancer sooner.At the moment applications are limited – while they’re being used in existing cancer cases, we’re far off when it comes to screening.Guest/sProfessor Sarah-Jane Dawson, clinician-scientist at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre and Centre for Cancer Research University of Melbourne

A look at some of the Health Report correspondence this week.You can email us at healthreport@abc.net.au