Cochrane Library Podcasts

The Cochrane Developmental, Psychosocial and Learning Problems Group covers a wide range of topics relevant to the mental health of both adults and children in the more than 140 Cochrane Reviews it has produced to date. In March 2018, it added to these with a new review of cognitive-behavioural interventions for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in adults. We asked one of the authors, Pablo Lopez from INECO Foundation and Favaloro University in Buenos Aires, Argentina, to tell us more in this podcast.

Cochrane Diagnostic Test Accuracy reviews bring together the evidence that should help practitioners to choose the most appropriate way to diagnose an illness or condition. This is now the case for the stomach bug, Helicobacter pylori, and we asked Lawrence Best from the UCL Medical School in London England to tell us about the findings of this March 2018 review.

As well as the problems with blood sugar control that are caused by diabetes, the condition can lead to a variety of other problems. One of these is an eye problem called diabetic retinopathy and it’s important that people with diabetes are checked for this. A January 2018 Cochrane Review looks at how to increase attendance at these screening visits and lead author, John Lawrenson from the City University of London in the UK, tells us more in this podcast.

Heart attack and stroke are the most common causes of death, illness, disability and reduced quality of life in industrialised countries, and several Cochrane Reviews look at ways to prevent these cardiovascular events. A new review from June 2017 looks at the evidence for a B-vitamin called niacin. One of the reviews' authors, Matthias Briel from Basel Institute for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics in Switzerland, outlines the findings in this podcast.

The Cochrane Tobacco Addiction Group has produced dozens of reviews of the effects of a wide variety of interventions to help smokers quit. The reviews are updated periodically to incorporate new evidence and the second update of the review focusing on interventions for young people was published in November 2017. Lead author, Tom Fanshawe from the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences in the University of Oxford in the UK bring us up to date with the findings.

The Cochrane Drugs and Alcohol Group has produced several reviews of the effects of interventions intended to reduce heavy drinking. The collection was extended in September 2017 with an investigation of the use a computer to provide personalised advice. We asked one of the authors, Fiona Beyer from Newcastle University in the UK, to tell us what they found.

The Cochrane Drugs and Alcohol Group has produced several reviews of the effects of interventions intended to reduce heavy drinking. The collection was extended in September 2017 with an investigation of the use a computer to provide personalised advice. We asked one of the authors, Fiona Beyer from Newcastle University in the UK, to tell us what they found.

The Cochrane Drugs and Alcohol Group has produced several reviews of the effects of interventions intended to reduce heavy drinking. The collection was extended in September 2017 with an investigation of the use a computer to provide personalised advice. We asked one of the authors, Fiona Beyer from Newcastle University in the UK, to tell us what they found.

Many people suffer from chronic pain and it’s a challenging condition to treat. A group of drugs known as opioids are widely used, but these can have harmful side effects. In a new Cochrane overview in October 2017, Sebastian Straube from the University of Alberta in Canada and colleagues brought together the findings from 14 Cochrane Reviews to summarise the evidence. He tells us what they found in this podcast.

The co-authors of this review were  Charl Els, Tanya D Jackson, Diane Kunyk, Vernon G Lappi, Barend Sonnenberg, Reidar Hagtvedt, Sangita Sharma, and Fariba Kolahdooz.

As the number of Cochrane and other systematic reviews increases, we are seeing a rising need for overviews that bring together the findings from multiple reviews. In September 2017, the Cochrane Acute Respiratory Infections Group did this for eight systematic reviews of ways to influence prescribing behaviour. Chris Del Mar, from the Cochrane group, tells us more in this podcast.