Health Report - ABC RN

In 2009 Australia launched a National Preventive Health Strategy with the aim of being the healthiest country in the world by 2020—where we're at with it now. The Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Healthcare has created a national clinical care standard for diagnosis and treatment. Many people are told to take a vitamin D supplement, especially in winter when there's less sunshine, but you can have too much of it.

Australia has many stories from people who say they have long COVID but who are unable to access help | Updated versions of coronavirus vaccines targeting the Omicron variant have been announced, yet the virus still mutates | People with Type 1 diabetes need to monitor their blood glucose but automatic systems are being trialled to assist them | A study on the behaviour of teens undertaken during the pandemic identified some of the particular health risks for this group.

What an Australian Centre for Disease Control might aim to be; An Indigenous perspective and research to engage culture for protection against cardiovascular disease and stroke; Research on links between mental health and mortality concludes that both mental and physical health can be adversely impacted.

There may be a link between what you eat and your mental health—also, avoiding overtreatment for breast cancer; predicting your risk of osteoarthritis; and whether mammogram results should inform women about breast density.

The cancer risks that run through generations of families—and the growing frontier in medicine trying to change that.

The term 'time toxicity' expresses the idea that if treatment to extend a patient's life means lengthy periods in medical facilities, it may be time wasted; In Australia smoking has decreased generally, but tobacco use is higher than average in young people with mental health issues; The bad form of cholesterol is LDL — low-density lipoprotein, and high-density lipoprotein is the good form. An new study suggests there's a limit on how high HDL should be.

Those at greatest risk from unplanned pregnancy are often least able to access it; Study on 800 different lipids to check your metabolic risk and health profile; It's important to ask if someone's life will be improved by taking cancer drugs; Heart defects in kids may need surgery but new research considers exercise as a key to improving their life expectancy.

Combating monkeypox with increased vaccination—and monitoring polio cases in Ukraine; Treating the increasing number of melanoma cases; A faster and more mobile way to diagnose stroke; Comparing data on some mental health conditions against immune disorders.

Ahead of the election, The Health Report hosts a discussion between experts about the pressing health issues. What are the most pronounced problems, and what health questions have not been raised at all?

The risk of premature mortality has been mapped on to federal electorates and Australia's lack of response to the disparity contrasts with that of the UK. The effects of prostate surgery affect the man and his partner—and sometimes it means a change to sexual function. Doctors can struggle to communicate with Aboriginal patients—a podcast featuring Aboriginal elders offers advice on delivering culturally safe healthcare.

Global warming will probably mean that wildlife travels more and mixes with other species—and an effect will be to spread unfamiliar viruses; There is new guidance to help hospital doctors and clinicians prescribing opioids for pain; A disorder of the oesophagus creates symptoms similar to reflux or allergies, but the cause of the disorder is not known; The non-availability of a treatment for age-related macular degeneration has eye surgeons arguing for change.

It's expected now that we will generally live longer, but what really interests people is how to spend their longer life in good health—what to do now in order to set a good foundation.

Oncologists don't always know which chemotherapy drug will work best, and even then, one treatment won't suit everyone. So there's growing research on potential therapies using animal 'avatars'. And later ... an estimated one in six Australians lives with tinnitus but told nothing can be done to help it.

Many people are waiting for an organ donation and some of them may die before a suitable organ is found. Some researchers think that in the near future we will be able to grow organs in animals to be safely transplanted into humans. The first of two features about medicine's use of animals for organ and tissue transplantation. This program was originally broadcast in October 2021.

A review of multiple studies on common painkillers found that they have a marked effect on our resistance to infection—which is sometimes bad and sometimes good. Some of these medications could also reduce our response to a vaccination—especially if taken straight before one. Doctors, nurses and other health professionals keep you healthy. But despite Australia's relative good health it has major problems with general practice. By international standards we are probably overproducing medical graduates, but not enough go into general practice. New variants of the COVID-19 virus continue to appear, especially as there are low income countries with low levels of immunisation. The 2022-23 Australian Budget allocated A$85 million to COVAX, the international program for delivering COVID-19 vaccines particularly to low income countries. Is it enough?

Assessing the continuing ability to treat COVID-19 with antibody infusions. | A 'temporary stroke' means people get the signs of a stroke but the symptoms go away it's a called a Transient Ischaemic Attack - but that could be a misnomer. | If you have high blood pressure and lifestyle controls are not helping - by how much should pressure be reduced? | Primary aldosteronism (PA) is a hormonal cause of high blood pressure; it's treatable and there's a simple test.

What we know about the diversity of blood group types in Australia has just been updated—it reflects patterns in immigration. And we discuss the potential benefits of modifying diet to treat multiple sclerosis. And whether mental health issues may raise the risk of cognitive decline.

Japanese Encephalitis (JEV) is common in Asia but now causing concern in Australia. The rise of JEV in Australia happened when the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (the IPCC) were reporting on climate change—a key aspect of which was the effect of climate on health. There's unique archival audio from the 1980s of the surgeon who performed a heart transplant operation on Baby Fae - using a baboon heart. And the records of 80 million people have been assessed to see why there are now less deaths from heart attack.

Australia is lucky to have free healthcare services—but there can be big gaps in who receives it; reports on two people with bipolar disorder finding benefit from a faecal microbiota transplant; and how stomas help the intestine heal.

Two recent scientific publications show that the pandemic originated in the Huanan Wholesale Seafood Market, in Wuhan, China. The publications are not yet peer reviewed but seem to put paid to the theory that the virus escaped from a Wuhan virology lab.

An Achilles tendon rupture is sometimes heard as a loud 'snap'—so then what? And how the cardiologists are developing new devices for heart transplants; And the complexity of treating cardiomyopathy in methamphetamine users.

Brendan Crabb on how we best understand and get to a COVID-normal life. Also, there's reason to consider screening kids at primary school age for hearing loss problems. Inflammation and how it may affect your risk of depression; And, congenital heart disease and genes not necessarily specific to the heart.

From the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, one expert came to the fore as a trusted voice, not just in his home country of the United States, but around the globe: Dr Anthony S Fauci, the director of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

An omnibus episode about protecting kids from drug and alcohol misuse.

What you need to know about ICE-crystal meth, and a first-hand account of how difficult it is to quit an ICE addiction. Both items in this programs were originally broadcast in June 2021.

Borderline Personality Disorder is one of the most stigmatised and misunderstood mental health conditions. It affects a significant number of people in the community, a large proportion of them having suffered trauma early in life. The emotional instability, fear of abandonment and patterns of self-harm can alter someone's life and that of their loved ones in profound ways. But the enduring stigma around BPD means it often goes unrecognised or not properly treated and many fall through the cracks. This program was originally broadcast in September 2021

If you mention Transient Global Amnesia – TGA – the chances are that nobody has heard of it. When Dasha Ross lost her memory for a day she was diagnosed as having experienced this mysterious ‘neurological enigma'. This enigma affects over a thousand Australians a year, and Dasha was determined to find out why, and what causes it. This program was originally broadcast in April 2021

Rapid antigen tests can now be purchased by the general public, and what you need to know. There's Part 2 of our Chimeras in medicine—the use of animal avatars. And further responses to questions about snakebite treatment from the expert toxinologist.

Many people are currently waiting for an organ donation, and some of those waiting may die before a suitable organ is found. However some researchers think that we will be able to grow organs in animals to be then safely transplanted into humans. This is the first of two features about medicine's use of animals for human tissue and organ transplantation.

As the world opens up after COVID-19, what should we know about further vaccination; cholesterol studies in different age groups; digital health and how it helps health care.

Malaria and the implications of a vaccine for it; a new book about what happens to the Hippocratic Oath when it's in the real world; and, if you are bitten by a snake - what next?

The gender bias in healthcare is pervasive and causes harm when women receive worse treatment during a heart attack, are denied proper pain relief when in pain or when less likely to receive timely access to critical health interventions.

What may happen if the hospital systems in NSW and Victoria are overwhelmed when we open up at 70 and 80% and the expected surge in cases occurs? New research sheds light on colorectal cancer risks. And are the potential benefits of placebos overblown?

Borderline Personality Disorder is one of the most stigmatised and misunderstood mental health conditions. It affects a significant number of people in the community, a large proportion of them having suffered trauma early in life. The emotional instability, fear of abandonment and patterns of self-harm can alter someone's life and that of their loved ones in profound ways. But the enduring stigma around BPD means it often goes unrecognised or not properly treated and many fall through the cracks.

How did Australia fare in the first year of the pandemic? What are the 'molecular messages' our body sends during exercise and how can they be used to help treat disease? Are the most common elective orthopaedic surgeries prescribed always the most effective option? And can a pill that combines four low-dose medications transform how high blood pressure is treated?

The COVID outbreak in regional New South Wales is highlighting the comparatively low vaccination rates in Indigenous communities. New research uncovers more on the origins of The Black Death. Researchers try to understand more about the experience of chronic illness after tick bites. And in the US, the trial of the founder of biotech company Theranos begins.

What new research shows about the effect of substituting salt and health - can it save lives?

Australia is pinning its hopes on modelling that says restrictions can start to ease once we hit vaccination targets, but will the high case numbers in NSW disrupt that plan? New research finds that people who are fully vaccinated but contract COVID can still carry high viral loads. Why are some countries seeing high numbers of children in ICUs, while others are not? And why are some teenagers more at risk of regular substance use? The answer - partly at least - may lie within the brain.

How can ventilation be improved to help reduce the spread of COVID? The surprising discovery that patients who isolate prior to surgery are more likely to develop post-operative lung complications. What's it like living with tinnitus and can anything be done about it? And calls to do more to prevent chronic disease.

We now have modelling to guide our way out of the pandemic, but some researchers say we will need to vaccinate even younger age groups to reach sufficient immunity. Why are so many women having critical medical care delayed when experiencing a heart attack? And research shows people living with anxiety are more likely to use alcohol. But what happens when drinking becomes a problem and where can you get help?

What are people experiencing in intensive care as a result of the delta COVID outbreak and how are hospitals coping?

Right now overseas, several covid vaccines are being trialled in children as young as babies 6 months of age. So how long will it be until younger kids can get vaccinated? How pandemic prevention measures have been particularly tough on the mental health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Cataract surgery can and is sometimes done in both eyes on the same day. But what does a review of the data tell us about whether this is best? And a puzzling link between two things that can cause disability as we age: cognitive decline, and fractures.