BMJ deputy editor Trish Groves interviews Ike Iheanacho, editor of Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin, about its report on the use of aspirin as a primary preventative. Kirsten Patrick, an associate editor at the BMJ, talks to Charis Eng from the Cleveland Clinic about the growth in commercially available genomic screening tests. And Sabreena Malik, clinical community editor of doc2doc, BMJ Group’s clinical community site, takes us through this week’s news.

See also;

Aspirin for primary prevention of cardiovascular disease?
A practical guide to interpretation and clinical application of personal genomic screening

This week Duncan Jarvies talks to Paul Kelly about treating TB in East Timor, and to Kevin Deans about the link between deprivation and heart disease in Glasgow. Annabel Ferriman takes us through this week’s news.

See also;

Differences in atherosclerosis according to area level socioeconomic deprivation
Food incentives to improve completion of tuberculosis treatment: randomised controlled trial in Dili, Timor-Leste

Political attention has been focused on providing universal health cover, but this can’t happen without curbing rising costs. In this week’s podcast Duncan Jarvies talks to Albert Mulley, from Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, about how practice variation is driving up the cost of health care. Zosia Kmietowicz takes us through the news.

See also;

Inconvenient truths about supplier induced demand and unwarranted variation in medical practice

This week Duncan Jarvies talks to Peter Fleming about his latest findings into the risk factors for SIDS. He also finds out from Michael Moore about what’s causing the rise in antidepressant prescription in the UK. Birte Twisselmann takes us through the news.

See also;
Risk factors for SIDS
Explaining the rise in antidepressant prescribing

This week Kirsten Patrick talks to Cathie Sturgeon about the usefulness of tumour markers, Birte Twisselmann finds out from Jane Kim the cost effectiveness of vaccinating boys against HPV, and Deborah Cohen takes us through this week’s highlights.

See also;
Cost effectiveness analysis of including boys in a human papillomavirus vaccination programme in the United States
Serum tumour markers: how to order and interpret them
The cost of donated drugs

This week Duncan Jarvies talks to Ben Reis, from Harvard Medical School, about using longitudinal histories to predict domestic abuse. Mabel Chew finds out from Charlie Tomson about the evidence behind using statins in patients with kidney disease, and Annabel Ferriman takes us though the news.

See also:

Longitudinal histories as predictors of future diagnoses of domestic abuse: modelling study

Should statins be prescribed for primary prevention of cardiovascular disease in patients with chronic kidney disease?

This week Zosia Kmietowicz talks to Keir Starmer QC, the Director of Public Prosecutions, about the clarification on the law for assisted suicide. Deborah Cohen finds out from NCAS (the National Clinical Assessment Service) about their recent report into the types of doctors most often referred to them, and Duncan Jarvies talks to Tom Jefferson about how effective physical barriers are at preventing the spread of respiratory viruses.
See also:
Physical interventions to interrupt or reduce the spread of respiratory viruses
Male doctors, doctors over 50, and doctors qualifying overseas are more likely to raise concerns about performance
The Crown Prosecution Service

This week Duncan Jarvies talks to Vivienne Nathanson from the BMA and Gerard Hastings from Stirling University and the Open University about the BMA’s plans to take on alcohol advertising. Birte Twisselmann finds out from Ian Gregory about the UK’s legacy of deprivation, and David Payne takes us through what’s new online.

See also:

Under the influence - the damaging effect of alcohol marketing on young people
doc2doc forum: Should alcohol advertising be banned?
Comparisons between geographies of mortality and deprivation from the 1900s and 2001

This week Trish Groves finds out from Zack Cooper and Julian Le Grand about “Equity, waiting times, and NHS reforms“. Ed Davies, editor of Career Focus, joins us to talk about doctors’ earnings, and Birte Twisselmann takes us through the week’s news.

See also;
Equity, waiting times, and NHS reforms
What doctors earn

Duncan Jarvies discovers from William Hamilton that ovarian cancer isn’t actually a silent killer. Helen Macdonald learns from Peter Whorwell the difference a little fibre can make, and Birte Twisselmann takes us through this week’s news.

See also;
Soluble or insoluble fibre in irritable bowel syndrome in primary care?
Risk of ovarian cancer in women with symptoms in primary care