Health Report - Separate stories podcast

The latest health news, including why Factitious Disorder Imposed on Another (FDIA) — formerly known as Munchausen by Proxy — is making headlines.

And health spending in Australia returns to pre-pandemic levels. So, where's that money going?

References

• High-profile mum under police probe claimed kidney ‘God cure’ - The Australian
• Health spending in Australia returns to pre-pandemic levels - Australian Institute of Health and Welfare

The re-election of Donald Trump in the United States has many fearing the repercussions for reproductive health.

Some American women have been stockpiling abortion pills in case the new administration further restricts access to care.

This isn’t just a US issue – experts here are worried about the implications for countries that rely on American aid.

Guest

• Kirsten Black, Professor of Sexual and Reproductive Health at University of Sydney

References

• Abortion is legal in Australia, but doctors say an 'unspoken ban' is robbing women in regional and rural areas of the right to choose - ABC News
• Abortion services at Orange Hospital to be reinstated after ban on terminations for non-medical reasons - ABC News
• Surgical abortions at Queanbeyan Hospital to be reinstated and region's service expanded - ABC News

Screening can identify couples with an increased chance of having a child with an autosomal recessive or X-linked genetic condition.

But at the moment there are barriers to screening – you have to request testing yourself, and costs can be out of pocket.

A large study has explored the best way to deliver a national screening program, that would be available to all couples in Australia.

Guest

• Prof Martin Delatycki, Co-Director of the Bruce Lefroy Centre at Murdoch Children's Research Institute (MCRI)

References

• Nationwide, Couple-Based Genetic Carrier Screening - The New England Journalist of Medicine

Australia has been called the food allergy capital of the world, with more than six million of us living with an allergic disease.

But the advice on food allergies has changed a lot in the past few decades and this has left some parents confused.

Fleur Connick tracks her family’s experience with allergies, and where Australia is now with treatment.

Guests

• Fleur Connick, ABC Science Cadet
• Vanessa Connick
• Maria Said, CEO of Allergy and Anaphylaxis Australia, and Director of the National Allergy Council
• A/Prof Stephen Adelstein, allergy specialist and clinical immunologist at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney

References

• Allergy & Anaphylaxis Australia
• Launch: Allergy Connect education and support program - Allergy & Anaphylaxis Australia

A look at some of the Health Report correspondence this week.

References

• Oral Muvalaplin for Lowering of Lipoprotein(a)A Randomized Clinical Trial - JAMA
• This under-tested type of blood fat could be driving heart disease - ABC Health Report, 24 Feb 23
• Existing and emerging strategies to lower Lipoprotein(a) - atherosclerosis
• Lepodisiran, an Extended-Duration Short Interfering RNA Targeting Lipoprotein(a) - A Randomized Dose-Ascending Clinical Trial - JAMA

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A look at some of the Health Report correspondence this week.

You can email us at [email protected]

It has been 60 years since one of the pillars of medical ethics – the Declaration of Helsinki – was published.

For the most part, it is seen as a leading light for researchers doing clinical trials with human participants.

But some think one of the principles is misleading – the one that states "the physician must offer care in the patient's best interest".

Guest/s

• Professor Jerry Menikoff, Centre for Biomedical Ethics at the National University of Singapore

References

• WMA Declaration of Helsinki – Ethical Principles for Medical Research Involving Human Participants

If your knees creak when you exercise, you might be concerned about what's going on in the joint.

But researchers have found there's nothing inherently wrong with exercising your noisy knees – especially when there's no pain involved.

Guest/s

• Jamon Couch, physiotherapist and researcher at La Trobe University

References

• Noisy knees - knee crepitus prevalence and association with structural pathology: a systematic review and meta-analysis

What do we know about the long-term effects of cannabis use on the brain?

A review has found chronic cannabis use during adolescence and young adulthood is associated with worse academic performance.

However, is cannabis the cause of worse grades, absenteeism and unemployment, or a bystander to a larger problem?

Guest/s

• Associate Professor Li Wang, Department of Anesthesia at McMaster University
• Professor Louisa Degenhardt, research director at the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre

References

• Cannabis Use During Adolescence and Young Adulthood and Academic Achievement
• Association between cannabis use and brain structure and function: an observational and Mendelian randomisation study
• Early Maternal Prenatal Cannabis Use and Child Developmental Delays
• Maternal Prenatal Cannabis Use and Child Autism Spectrum Disorder

Another study has supported the assumption that vaccination protects people from long COVID. But when does that protection wane?

Australia has seen a second consecutive drop in life expectancy rates, probably due to the pandemic. 

And as predicted, there has been a spike in whooping cough cases. Do we need to reconsider our vaccination schedule?

References

• Effect of COVID-19 vaccination on the risk of developing post-COVID conditions: The VENUS study
• Life expectancy - Australian Bureau of Statistics
• Doctors call for whooping cough vaccination uptake amid worst year on record for cases