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. 

References

• PFAS inquiry hands down 47 recommendations to better regulate 'forever chemicals' in Australia - ABC News 
• The Lancet series on ultra-processed foods
• Orforglipron, 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/s

• Professor Chris Wong, cardiologist at the University of Adelaide and Royal Adelaide Hospital

References

• Caffeinated 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/s

• Dr Paul Robinson, Professor of Respiratory and Sleep Medicine at Queensland Children’s Hospital and a Research Leader at the Woolcock Research Institute

References

• Budesonide–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/s

• Professor 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 [email protected]

Government spending on public health has fallen $2.3 billion from last year, back down to pre-pandemic levels. 

This funding not only support vaccination and cancer screening, but campaigns aiming to prevent disease. 

Also, a major study raises questions about how often children should have their blood pressure tested.

References

• Government expenditure on public health activities in Australia 2023–24 - AIHW
• Global prevalence of hypertension among children and adolescents aged 19 years or younger: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis

We’re not talking about coeliac disease here, which is an autoimmune condition where the immune system overreacts to gluten.

Some people experience gut and other symptoms after eating gluten-based or wheat-based foods without a coeliac diagnosis.

However a new review suggests some people with this sensitivity could be reacting to something else in the diet, not gluten.

Gut symptom study — a world-first international clinical trial comparing two proven treatments for IBS: the low-FODMAP diet and an exposure-based therapy that retrains the gut-brain connection. The study is fully online and open to adults located anywhere in Australia (or the United States) who are currently experiencing gut symptoms (similar to IBS). For listeners interested in learning more about the study or expressing interest, they can go to: gutresearchstudy.com

Guest/s

• Associate Professor Jess Biesiekierski, head of human nutrition at the University of Melbourne

References

• Non-coeliac gluten sensitivity - the Lancet
• Global prevalence of self-reported non-coeliac gluten and wheat sensitivity: a systematic review and metaanalysis

A drug used to treat acne and to prevent malaria, doxycycline, could reduce the risk adolescents developing schizophrenia.

The association was seen in a study looking at more than 50,000 adolescents who attended psychiatric services in Finland.

The authors have called it a "tentative but exciting possibility" – but caution more research is needed.

Guest/s

• Professor Ian Kelleher, child and adolescent psychiatry at the University of Edinburgh

References

• Doxycycline Use in Adolescent Psychiatric Patients and Risk of Schizophrenia: An Emulated Target Trial

Between 30 and 50 per cent of cancers could be preventable, and according to the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) we're ignoring a big one. 

In up to five per cent of all cancers, alcohol consumption plays a role. But the director of IARC says we're not doing enough to drive home the risk. 

Guest/s

• Dr Elisabete Weiderpass, director of the International Agency for Research on Cancer of the World Health Organization 

References

• Cancers attributable to alcohol - IARC
• Alcohol: a major preventable cause of cancer (IARC Evidence Summary Brief No. 6)

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

You can email us at [email protected]