Chronic exposure to inflammation may explain link to conditions including depression, anxiety and bipolar disorder, researchers say
Living with an autoimmune disease may almost double the risk of mental health conditions including depression, anxiety and bipolar disorder, a study suggests.
The link may be explained by the chronic exposure to systemic inflammation that the autoimmune disease causes, researchers at the University of Edinburgh said.
Continue reading...Health secretary announces ‘rapid’ national inquiry into failings in NHS care of mothers and babies in England
The health secretary, Wes Streeting, has announced the launch of a national investigation into NHS maternity services.
The new rapid investigation is intended to provide truth to families suffering harm, as well as driving urgent improvements to care and safety.
Continue reading...‘Inaction’ from governments and ‘baked in’ racism are hampering efforts to address entrenched disadvantage, according to first independent review
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Australian governments are failing to do “the heavy lifting” needed to address entrenched disadvantage experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, an independent review of the national Closing the Gap strategy has found.
The review by the Jumbunna Institute for Indigenous Education and Research at the University of Technology Sydney is the first to independently assess the implementation of the Closing the Gap agreement since its establishment in 2008.
Continue reading...‘There isn’t a budget for this,’ health secretary says after MPs vote to legalise procedure in England and Wales
Wes Streeting has voiced doubts over whether the NHS can afford to establish an assisted dying service, after MPs passed a bill to legalise the procedure last week.
The health secretary was previously a supporter of assisted dying but switched sides last year, expressing concerns about the ethics of offering such a service before significant improvements could be made to the NHS.
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‘We’re not just a vassal state’
Hastie says he would be reluctant to commit Australian troops to any conflict with Iran that the US elects to join, but said any decision about logistical support would be “a decision for the government”.
We need greater transparency. Secretary Hegseth appeared before the arms committee this week, last week, he talked about the Indo-Pacific and named communist China as the Pacific threat – his words and he talked about the US building up its forward posture in the Indo-Pacific. He spoke specifically of Australia, Japan and the Philippines. We’re very much part of the integrated deterrence that the US is building in the region.
We need greater transparency, to talk about operationalising the alliance, building guardrails for combat operations and defining our sovereignty. This will make things clearer for us, so we can better preserve our national interests. We’re not just a vassal state, we’re an ally, partner and it’s time we had a discussion about what that looks like.
One thing is clear. If you are Iran and you survive this conflict with your regime intact and a nuclear program intact, I think you will move at best speed to build a bomb, to put yourself in the strongest position the, in time this happens.
They will use it.
Continue reading...The Maha campaign seeks to warn Americans of the dangers of ultra-processed foods
Federal health officials are seeking to launch a “bold, edgy” public service campaign to warn Americans of the dangers of ultra-processed foods in social media, transit ads, billboards and even text messages.
And they potentially stand to profit off the results.
Continue reading...Other countries have approved a wider range of UV-filtering ingredients, which allow for more advanced sunscreens
Many dermatologists and experts say US sunscreens are still not as effective as many available overseas when it comes to protecting against ultraviolet radiation linked to skin cancer and premature ageing – despite years of research.
The concern comes as a brutal heatwave, with a suffocating “heat dome”, is arriving for more than 200 million people across vast swaths of the US this weekend, bringing extreme heat and humidity . Studies have shown that the global climate crisis is making heatwaves more severe, frequent and long lasting.
Continue reading...Singer trains underwater like Frank Sinatra once did and scientists say it may be useful in maintaining vocal prowess
Frank Sinatra did it his way, taking to the pool to boost his vocal prowess, and it seems Rod Stewart is singing from the same songsheet. Now scientists say the approach might not be somethin’ stupid.
Stewart, 80, is still entertaining fans with his raspy vocals and energetic stage performances and earlier this month he revealed that as well as running and playing some football, swimming also played a key part in his campaign to stay forever young.
Continue reading...Both parties have made closing submissions in their wage dispute before the NSW industrial relations tribunal
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Closing submissions have been heard in the long-running dispute between psychiatrists – who are pushing for a 25% pay increase – and the New South Wales department of health, bringing to a close a landmark legal action brought by the psychiatrists, who argue psychiatric care in NSW is facing “collapse” because of poor pay and conditions.
Over two days this week, the Industrial Relations Commission court in Sydney heard closing submissions from lawyers, before the full bench retired to consider their decision.
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Continue reading...Food poisoning outbreak has killed three and resulted in one pregnancy loss across 13 states over past year
A listeria food poisoning outbreak that has killed three people and led to one pregnancy loss is linked to newly recalled heat-and-eat chicken fettuccine Alfredo products sold at Kroger and Walmart stores, federal health officials said late on Tuesday.
The outbreak, which includes at least 17 people in 13 states, began last July, officials said. At least 16 people have been hospitalized.
32.8oz trays of Marketside Grilled Chicken Alfredo with Fettuccine Tender Pasta with Creamy Alfredo Sauce, White Meat Chicken and Shaved Parmesan Cheese with best-by dates of 27 June or earlier.
12.3oz trays of Marketside Grilled Chicken Alfredo with Fettuccine Tender Pasta with Creamy Alfredo Sauce, White Meat Chicken, Broccoli and Shaved Parmesan Cheese with best-by dates of 26 June or earlier.
12.5oz trays of Home Chef Heat & Eat Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo with Pasta, Grilled White Meat Chicken and Parmesan Cheese, with best-by dates of 19 June or earlier.
Continue reading...Opponents view the controversial act as part of a growing trend across Brazil to further restrict abortion access
A new law has just come into force in Rio de Janeiro requiring all public hospitals and clinics run by the municipal government to display anti-abortion signs bearing messages such as: “Did you know that the unborn child is discarded as hospital waste?”
Reproductive rights activists view the act as the latest example of a growing trend across Brazil to further restrict access to abortion in a country that already has some of the world’s most restrictive laws.
Continue reading...Yvonne Ford, from Barnsley, had contact with stray animal while on holiday, UK Health Security Agency says
A woman from Yorkshire has died from rabies after contact with a stray dog while on holiday in Morocco, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has said.
Yvonne Ford, from Barnsley in South Yorkshire, was diagnosed in Yorkshire and Humber after returning from the north African country in February.
Continue reading...While parliament was moving towards more liberal abortion laws more women were being arrested or investigated
Calls for decriminalisation of abortions have been growing louder in recent years – in line with a growing number of women being prosecuted for terminating their pregnancies.
Until 2022, it is believed that only three women had ever been convicted of having an illegal abortion in the 150 years since 1861, when the procedure was made illegal under the Offences Against the Person Act.
Continue reading...Amendment to crime and policing bill will change law to end prosecution of women who terminate pregnancies
British MPs have voted to decriminalise abortion, marking the biggest step forward in reproductive rights in almost 60 years.
In an amendment to the government’s crime and policing bill, parliament voted to change the criminal laws that govern abortion in England and Wales so that women procuring a termination outside the legal framework cannot be prosecuted.
Continue reading...Radiographers voice concerns about being filmed without consent and say trend could violate other patients’ privacy
NHS staff have voiced concern about the growing numbers of patients who are filming themselves undergoing medical treatment and uploading it to TikTok and Instagram.
Radiographers, who take X-rays and scans, fear the trend could compromise the privacy of other patients being treated nearby and lead to staff having their work discussed online.
Continue reading...High numbers of staff leaving because of high pressure, lack of support, verbal abuse, long shifts and low pay, union says
NHS call handlers are quitting amid burnout at dealing with 999 calls about suicides, stabbings and shootings and the long delays before ambulances reach patients.
The pressure is so intense that 27% of control room staff in ambulance services across Britain have left their jobs over the last three years, NHS figures show.
Continue reading...Grattan Institute finds one in 10 Australians now paying $600 a year for specialist appointments
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One in 10 Australians pay almost $600 each year to see specialist doctors, with 1 million delaying or skipping appointments due to the cost, according to new analysis.
A report by the Grattan Institute, released on Monday, revealed outpatient fees have soared over the past 15 years. The average initial out-of-pocket psychiatrist fee was $671 in 2023, with some “extreme fee” specialists charging more than triple the scheduled Medicare fee. It found almost 2 million Australians are delaying or skipping specialist appointments each year – about half due to cost – adding pressure to the country’s hospital systems.
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Continue reading...Government announces £9m funding to make specialist blood machines more widely available across NHS
People living with sickle cell disease in England are to benefit from quicker and more accessible treatment due to a £9m investment, the government has announced.
Apheresis services, which are a type of treatment that removes harmful components from a patient’s blood, are to improve across England through the funding of more specialist treatment centres. The funding will ensure the wider availability of machines that remove a patient’s sickled red blood cells and replace them with healthy donor cells.
Continue reading...Among the names announced by the US health secretary are several who have expressed anti-vaccine views
Robert Kennedy Jr, the US health secretary, named new members to serve on a key panel of vaccine advisers on Wednesday after abruptly firing all 17 sitting members of the independent panel of experts, according to a post on X.
The eight new members of the advisory committee for immunization practices (ACIP) are: Joseph R Hibbeln, Martin Kulldorff, Retsef Levi, Robert W Malone, Cody Meissner, James Pagano, Vicky Pebsworth and Michael A Ross.
Continue reading...Prime minister faces Conservative party leader as chancellor to reveal how government plans to spend almost £1.4tn in 2026-27
Green party MPs and activists staged a protest outside parliament today saying the government should use the spending review to announce a wealth tax. In a post on social media, Adrian Ramsay, the party’s co-leader, said:
We expect the Chancellor to take another axe to public spending today: decline by design from a govt that refuses to tax wealth to properly fund our overstretched public services & support the most vulnerable. We need to invest in a secure & fairer future. #TaxExtremeWealth
Senior SNP figures held a secret meeting on Monday night to discuss removing John Swinney as party leader, The Herald has learned, following last week’s defeat in the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse byelection.
One of the 25 attendees said the first minister had two weeks to come up with a new strategy on independence — or risk facing a leadership challenge at the SNP conference in October.
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