The way we get information has changed, and when it comes to health and wellness more and more people are turning to social media.  There are pros and cons, but when it comes to something as important as birth control, there's a price to pay for taking guidance from influencers.  Also on the show, why parent-focused programs haven't been working to tackle obesity in toddlers. And a story about the benefits of withdrawing medication, rather than starting it.  References Alcohol and Cancer Risk - JAMA Insights Review of Evidence on Alcohol and Health - National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine GLP-1 RAs and Cardiovascular and Kidney Outcomes by Body Mass Index in Type 2 Diabetes  Incidence of GLP‐1 receptor agonist use by women of reproductive age attending general practices in Australia, 2011–2022: a retrospective open cohort study Joint statement on professional responsibilities for prescribing and dispensing medicines - AHPRA Parent-focused behavioural interventions for the prevention of early childhood obesity (TOPCHILD): a systematic review and individual participant data meta-analysis “Do You Know What Birth Control Actually Does to Your Body?”: Assessing Contraceptive Information on TikTok Withdrawal of heart failure therapy after atrial fibrillation rhythm control with ejection fraction normalization: the WITHDRAW-AF trial

Researchers have tricked participants with placebo pain relief in an effort to map the brainstem.  Also, how immunotherapy might be used to treat mental health conditions in some young people.  And delays in diagnosing frontotemporal dementia means some people are missing out on important care.  References Answering common questions about GLP-1s for weight loss GLP-1s and eating disorders — what are the risks? A Case Series of Young People Receiving Adjunctive Immunotherapy for Neuroimmune-Mediated Major Mood or Psychotic Syndromes Fourteen years later: Reviewing the diagnostic criteria for behavioral-variant frontotemporal dementia Somatotopic organization of brainstem analgesic circuitry A radical new way to treat low back pain - ABC listen You can listen to more episodes of the Health Report podcast with presenters Dr Norman Swan and Dr Preeya Alexander on the ABC Listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. Covering topics like Trump’s policy changes to the growing trend of young people being diagnosed with cancer, we bring you the latest in health and medical news. 

Lots of people develop a daily skincare routine for anti-ageing purposes, but what if there are benefits from starting even earlier — at just nine weeks old? Also, a discussion in the United States about SSRI antidepressants in pregnancy has caused lots of anxiety. We talk through the risks versus the benefits.  And a common drug used to treat everything from nerves to heart conditions could show promise in stopping the spread of triple negative breast cancer.  References Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC) Meeting Outcomes - July 2025 Allostatic Load and Racial and Rural Disparities in Breast Cancer Survival | Oncology | JAMA Network Open | JAMA Network Structured vs Self-Guided Multidomain Lifestyle Interventions for Global Cognitive Function Emollients to Prevent Pediatric Eczema: A Randomized Clinical Trial Paternal Depression as a Risk Factor for Neurodevelopmental Disorders in Offspring: Implications for Maternal Depression and Its Treatment During Pregnancy Association Between Serotonergic Antidepressant Use During Pregnancy and Autism Spectrum Disorder in Children Hox-C12 coordinates β2-adrenoceptor coupling to a cAMP/calcium feedforward loop to drive invasion in triple-negative breast cancer Australian Physiotherapy Association

Cognitive Functional Therapy can help relieve low back pain, and shows some positive long-term results. Ovarian cancer doesn't start in the ovaries, but in the fallopian tubes, and opportunistic surgery could prevent it. And is your gut microbiome responsible for your insomnia or is your insomnia changing your microbiome?

Dietary guidelines tell us what we should eat for good health, but at the moment it is possible to follow the guidelines and still eat predominantly ultraprocessed foods.  A new study has looked at the impact this has on your health, and compared it to a minimally processed diet chock full of whole foods.  Also, there are calls to change the criteria for diagnosing perimenopause. And the benefits of psilocybin for depression might have been overstated. 

If you reach for a no-sugar drink, thinking you're making a wise choice, you might need to think again.  A new study suggests artificially sweetened drinks carry a similar type 2 diabetes risk to sugar sweetened beverages.  Also, loneliness is a growing public health issue, especially among younger people. What can we do to address it? And gynaecological cancer survivors are flipping the script, teaching health professionals. 

There are ways to rejuvenate old memories, but a new study has compared the process to the myth of Sisyphus, who was cursed to repeatedly roll a stone up a hill.  Also on the show, many doctors are already using artificial intelligence to help take notes. But are patients always aware these AI scribes are in the room? The emergence of vaping has slowed our progress when it comes to smoking cessation.  And looking at a sick person might activate your immune system, getting it ready to fight off infection.

Just like human children, young bats have been found to harbour and spread lots of viruses.  Their susceptibility to contracting multiple viruses at once makes them the perfect breeding ground for new disease variants.  Also, we take a look at a study that seemed to show private hospital were better than public hospitals for childbirth. Is it that simple? And a survey of people with chronic conditions shows where Australia is ahead, and where we need to improve. 

Five risk factors explain 50 per cent of cardiovascular risk at age 50, according to a new study.  Addressing those risk factors can add years to your life, even if you address them in middle age.  Also, the UK demonstrates a cutting edge IVF technique is effective at avoiding mitchondrial disease.  ADHD treatment has real world positives, but the effects are lessening as more people get diagnosed.  And an update on how RSV vaccination in pregnant women is going, five months into the program.  

The human exposome is the environmental equivalent of the human genome, and there's a project in the works to map it.  It's a huge project that needs to take into account our lifestyles, cultures, economics and politics. Essentially, everything but our genome.  Also, a concerning disparity between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians when it comes to kidney transplants.  And a small risk comes to light in relation to GLP-1s used for diabetes and weight loss.  References Guidance on medicinal cannabis prescribing targets unsafe practice - AHPRA GLP-1 Drugs Linked to Higher Risk of Age-Related Macular Degeneration Am I on the list? Clinician‐reported factors for kidney transplantation non‐waitlisting among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with kidney failure: a cross‐sectional study The Human Exposome Project Generation Cancer - 4Corners Mapping the chemical complexity of plastics - Nature

Immunotherapy uses the body's immune system to fight cancer. In blood cancer, a revolutionary t-cell therapy has cured patients and could show promise in solid tumours.  In bladder cancer, the tuberculosis vaccine is infused to treat non-invasive cancer. However a shortage of BCG means researchers are having to test out other methods.  Also, is Australia on the front foot when it comes to type 2 diabetes treatment? And what does copper in the brain have to do with Parkinson's disease?  

In the burgeoning field of artificial intelligence, it can sometimes feel like the answer to everything is right around the corner.  A dog owner is testing this with the help of super-computing, to try and find another treatment for his dog's cancer.  Also, the national lung cancer screening program is about to begin. Who is eligible, and is the healthcare system prepared? And with syphilis cases rising in the community, there are implications for expectant mothers. 

Hyenas and vultures play a role in driving down the risk of disease outbreaks, but their decline due to human behaviour is putting our health in danger. Also, we discuss Lifeblood's changes which bring down some of the barriers facing gay and bisexual men, and transgender women, who'd like to donate blood or plasma.  Pain education could help people with osteoarthritis get the most out of exercise programs — and even walk the Camino.  Plus there's a push to extend genetic carrier screening to cover dozens more conditions. 

There are concerns people are getting their hands on medicinal cannabis to treat conditions where there's very little evidence of benefit — and the possibility of harm.  Also, why weight loss drugs could improve treatment for people with schizophrenia. The full breadth of corporate ownership of radiology clinics is revealed.  And what questions need to be asked with IVF in the spotlight, as Monash IVF deals with the fallout from a second bungled embryo transfer. References: Medicinal cannabis prescribing practices under scrutiny after scripts issued 'every 4 minutes' - ABC News ‘Infuriating and dangerous’: Psychiatrist tries and fails to speak with his patients’ medicinal cannabis prescribers - AusDoc. Efficacy and safety of semaglutide versus placebo for people with schizophrenia on clozapine with obesity (COaST): a phase 2, multi-centre, participant and investigator- blinded, randomised controlled trial in Australia Corporatisation and ownership concentration in diagnostic imaging: an audit of Australian practices

Bringing clarity to health and medicA structured exercise program has increased survival in people with colon cancer after they've undergone surgery and chemotherapy.  Also, a common genetic variant could double the risk of dementia in men — if they receive two doses of the mutation.  We provide an update on the flu, COVID and RSV circulating the community. And a study bringing together millions of lab tests has found is take a lot longer for the body to bounce back from pregnancy than commonly thought.  References: Measles Seroprevalence in Infants Under 9 Months of Age in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis Gene–Environment Interaction Affects Risk of Atopic Eczema: Population and In Vitro Studies Structured Exercise after Adjuvant Chemotherapy for Colon Cancer - NEJM  Haemochromatosis Genotypes and Incident Dementia in a Prospective Study of Older Adults Pregnancy and postpartum dynamics revealed by millions of lab tests - ScienceAdvances al issues from social, scientific and political points of view.

Our cognitive ability changes throughout our lives, but what happens when we're young can determine our intelligence in adulthood — especially if we don't do anything to bolster it.   Also, NSW follows other states in allowing GPs and diagnose and treat ADHD. There are updated guidelines for the treatment of osteoporosis.  And when you go into remission from cancer, you usually undergo regular tests to make sure it hasn't returned. But does the evidence support this is beneficial, or simply a cause for anxiety?

If you've come across ads of Norman pushing a product for you to buy — no you haven't.  These ads are actually deepfake scams using an AI Norman to sell unproven supplements.  Also, why a new Alzheimer's drug coming onto the market might not become cheap enough for most people to take.  A breakthrough in gene-editing could push us closer to a future full of CRISPR treatments. And why eight hours a night might not be the magic number for sleep. 

Gut health is more complicated than social media influencers might have you believe.  It can be impacted by diet, exercise, the medications you take, the colds you catch. And any one of these factors can lead to irritable bowel syndrome.  Also, an overlooked allergy that starts with a tick bite. And the barriers people face who are suffering iron deficiency and its often overwhelming symptoms. 

It's a common sleep disorder that can have knock-on effects on your cardiovascular and overall metabolic health.  But sleep apnea doesn't always present how people think, especially in women.  Also, we take a look at Labor's health promises as they start their second term in government.  New guidelines have been developed to improve care in early pregnancy loss.  And one in seven Australians is on an antidepressant, in some cases simply because it can be so hard to come off them. 

The immune system seems to respond faster, and better, when you get a booster vaccine in the same arm as your initial vaccine.  Also, your GP might miss something going wrong with your liver because of the way pathology labs report blood test results.  And a common type 2 diabetes drug, metformin, could be used to treat knee osteoarthritis — and delay knee replacements.