Health Report

Apr 04 2025 49 ep. 40 mins 330
Health Report Podcast artwork

Covering the health stories that make a difference. Dr Norman Swan and Dr Preeya Alexander dissect the latest and breaking news in the medical world. 

  Health & Fitness  Science
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Helping pregnant women stop smoking — safely

Apr 04 2025 38 mins  
Quitting smoking can be tough, and for many women who've fallen pregnant their only option has been to go cold turkey. Researchers are trying to figure out whether medications to help are safe for mum and bub. Also, a condition that causes breathlessness that's often mistaken for asthma. These are the symptoms of vocal cord dysfunction. And a study suggests we've been majorly un

The key to creativity? You might be overthinking it

Mar 28 2025 41 mins  
A study of people with neurodegenerative disease has discovered that bursts of creativity can happen when the brain is shutting down. Also, there's a lot of misinformation out there about back pain and how to treat it. Here's where the evidence isn't. And the questions women should ask before undergoing vaginal surgery if their sexual function is important to them. Learn more

Why there's no quick fix for osteoarthritis

Mar 21 2025 41 mins  
A new resource has launched to provide information to the millions of Australians living with osteoarthritis. It pushes back against the idea that an injection or surgery will fix all your woes when it comes to this degenerative disease. Also, what climate change is doing to our hearts, and how a simple check in at school is helping students manage their mental health. Learn

Dr Google could be making your health anxiety worse

Mar 14 2025 42 mins  
What used to be called hypochondria is now health anxiety — an excessive worry about developing a serious illness. While experiences of health anxiety vary, for some people it can take over their lives and even lead to physical symptoms. Also, a link between conditions like endometriosis and heart disease. And local scientists help make a big discovery about how cells recycle

Early dementia signs from the body not the brain

Mar 07 2025 45 mins  
When you have dementia, being diagnosed early can help you and your loved ones manage the condition. It could also aid in treatment. A new study has found that in some cases, weight loss and lipid changes happened up to a decade before dementia was diagnosed. Also, concerns that people of a higher weight with restrictive eating disorders could access GLP-1s if doctors aren’t scre

Listening to influencers could give you an incidentaloma

Feb 28 2025 45 mins  
On social media, an influencer's job is to influence you — to get you to strive for a particular lifestyle or buy a specific product. In some cases they're pushing medical tests, telling people to take charge of their health with full body MRI scans and cancer detection tools that have very little, or no evidence to support them. Also, we take a comprehensive look at GLP-1s like

Why some women are in the dark about breast density

Feb 21 2025 42 mins  
Victoria is starting to notify women when they have dense breasts on their mammogram, following Western Australia and South Australia. So what does this information mean? And what should you be doing with it? Also, the concerning state of health policy in the United States. A correction on adolescent mental health. And what western medicine can learn from First Nations communities

Bowel cancer is happening younger — so why aren't people getting screened?

Feb 14 2025 42 mins  
Australia has been highlighted in an international report on the rising incidence of bowel cancer in young people. Our screening age was dropped last year to 45, however the overall uptake of bowel cancer screening remains at about 40 per cent. Also, a private hospital opening in Melbourne is promising to cut the cost to its patients down to zero. And what can be done to prevent

As bird flu mutates, are eggs still safe to eat?

Feb 07 2025 42 mins  
There's a shortage of eggs in Australia, and it might not let up as we brace for the arrival of the H5N1 strain of bird flu. That strain has shown is can make the jump into humans. But how does it manage? Also, menopause hormone therapy is in high demand. What are the benefits and the risks? And with kids spending less time outside, short-sightedness is on the rise. But treatments

How an online coach can keep your brain young

Jan 31 2025 43 mins  
There are some things you can do to guard against cognitive decline, and a study has found a hands-on approach is best. Also, rates of vaccination in pregnancy are falling in New South Wales. Should Australia follow Italy's lead and screen everyone for coeliac disease? And we hear from two friends who've had strokes 20 years apart. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit meg