Behind the Headlines

Health inequalities shown in early deaths

Tuesday Jun 11 2013

“North and South health divide: Chilling study reveals premature death is 'postcode lottery',” the Daily Mirror reports. The news is based on a new interactive map showing the variation in premature death rates across England...

NICE publishes guidance on cutting down smoking

Wednesday Jun 5 2013

"Smokers urged to 'cut down' rather than quit," The Daily Telegraph reports. The story comes from landmark national guidance on how healthcare professionals should help smokers who find it difficult to give up. The guidance…

Are short, intense exercise bursts enough to stay fit?

Monday Jun 3 2013

'Just 12 minutes of intensive exercise per week is enough to improve your health if you are overweight,' according to The Daily Telegraph. The paper reports on the findings of a study into the phenomenon…

No evidence Nordic diet prevents heart disease

Friday May 31 2013

"Roll out the reindeer and berries for Nordic health fix," The Daily Telegraph tells us, reporting that a Scandinavian diet can lower cholesterol and may reduce the risk of heart disease. Meanwhile, the Mail Online website tells us to…

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High-dose painkiller heart risk: small but significant

Thursday May 30 2013

"Study links painkillers to increased risk of heart attack," The Independent reports. This major study found that high doses of the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) type of painkiller increased the risk of serious conditions...

Molecule limits heart attack damage in mice

Tuesday May 28 2013

"Heart attack drug may reduce tissue damage," says the BBC. This headline was based on new research in mice. The research showed that a molecule called MitoSNO may be able to reduce the tissue damage that can occur...

Research could lead to 'universal' flu vaccine

Thursday May 23 2013

“Scientists create new flu vaccine that works against many different strains of the virus,” The Independent reports. This headline, and several others like it, is based on early stage research into the development of alternative flu vaccine technologies…

Cold weather may increase blood pressure

Wednesday May 22 2013

'Bad weather could raise your blood pressure and even kill you,' is the unnecessarily alarmist headline in the Daily Mail. It reports on a large, complex study that looked for any association between changes in weather and blood pressure…

Job stress may raise our 'bad cholesterol' levels

Monday May 20 2013

'A stressful job really can kill you – by raising your cholesterol,' reports the Mail Online website. This headline is based on Spanish research that looked at the relationship between job stress and lipid (fat) levels in the blood of more than 90,000…

Novel coronavirus 'limited' spread between people

Monday May 13 2013

The World Health Organization has released a statement warning that the new SARS-like coronavirus, first detected in the Middle East, is likely to be able to spread through close person-to-person contact…