187 episodes

Health issues and medical breakthroughs from around the world.

Health Check BBC World Service

    • Health & Fitness
    • 4.3 • 102 Ratings

Health issues and medical breakthroughs from around the world.

    A promising new cancer treatment

    A promising new cancer treatment

    The toxic mineral asbestos is still mined across the world, despite it’s much documented links to cancer. Now there are promising results from a new global study into one of the most aggressive types of cancer caused by exposure to asbestos.
    Also on the programme, we receive an exciting update from Mike, who has gotten a long-awaited kidney transplant, and we discuss new treatment protocols for Hepatitis B and how they could better serve people in southern and eastern Africa.

    • 26 min
    One billion obese people

    One billion obese people

    More than one billion people in the world are now living with obesity. The number of people who are underweight has also fallen according to a new global study, but this does not necessarily mean that people are better fed. In some countries insufficient food has been replaced by food that does not contain the nutrition that people need, with obesity now the most common form of malnutrition in many places. Claudia Hammond talks to study author Professor Majid Ezzati about the results and what can be done to halt the trend of increasing global obesity.
    Research has shown that sleep deprivation can increase the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, while regularly eating fruit and vegetables can reduce the risk. Yet it wasn’t known whether a healthy diet could compensate for a lack of sleep. Now, researchers at Uppsala University in Sweden have discovered that people who eat healthily but sleep for less than six hours a day are still at higher risk of type 2 diabetes. GP Dr Ayan Panja joins Claudia in the studio to pick over the findings and talk about the importance of sleep to your health.
    Ayan also brings news of a new study into screen time and language development in children. While this study found that screen time has a negative impact on children, previous studies have found that the right kind of television programme can be beneficial. Claudia and Ayan discuss the difficulties of finding answers to questions about the impact of screen time.
    With the Oscars about to take place in Hollywood, we’ll be wondering what the best films are for learning about global health. Professor Madhukar Pai from McGill University in Canada uses movies in his teaching, and has even put together a list of over one hundred films that accurately portray health stories. He tells us what makes the perfect health movie.
    And there’s more from British journalist Mike Powell as he prepares for his kidney transplant operation.
    (Photo: Police physical trainer Javier Ramirez (C) works with police officers at a police unit in Mexico City, 11 December, 2019, where 1,000 Mexico City police officers have joined a program to lose weight. Credit: Rodrigo Arangua/AFP)
    Featuring clips from:
    "Chernobyl"
    Directed by Johan Renck, HBO/Sky UK
    "Contagion"
    Directed by Steven Soderbergh, Participant Media/Imagenation Abu Dhabi/Double Feature Films
    "How to Survive a Plague"
    Directed by David France, Public Square Films/Ninety Thousand Words
    "Bending the Arc"
    Directed by Kief Davidson and Pedro Kos, Impact Partners

    • 26 min
    Junior doctors strike in South Korea

    Junior doctors strike in South Korea

    More than 1,600 junior doctors have been on strike in South Korea in a dispute about working conditions and Government plans to add more medical school placements. BBC health reporter Smitha Mundasad joins Claudia Hammond to explain the latest.
    Smitha also brings Claudia new research about the first ever prehistoric case of a child with genetic condition Edwards’ syndrome. And some innovative solutions to get blood to so called ‘blood deserts’; large rural areas where there is no access to blood transfusion.
    Claudia and Smitha also hear how one American woman Lynn Cole’s fight with serious blood infection helped scientists understand more about phage therapy. Lynn died in 2022, but Claudia speaks to her daughter Mya.
    Health Check also continues to follow British journalist Mike Powell as he prepares for a kidney transplant operation. This week he is in conversation with Justin Pham in Los Angeles, who also has kidney failure and has been on dialysis since last year.
    Presenter: Claudia Hammond
    Producer: Clare Salisbury

    • 26 min
    Global Trade v Health Equality

    Global Trade v Health Equality

    Research shows that large numbers of Covid deaths could have been prevented if people in low and middle income countries had better access to vaccines. But this week the World Trade Organisation said it could not reach a consensus on waiving intellectual property rights on Covid-19 tests and treatments for poorer countries. Claudia Hammond is joined by BBC Africa health correspondent Dorcas Wangira in Nairobi, to discuss the impact of vaccine inequity on her part of the world.
    Dorcas also brings news of a new Ebola study showing that even people vaccinated once they were already infected with Ebola had a substantially lower risk of dying. It suggests that not only does the vaccine help prevent Ebola, it also improves the survival odds of people who have already contracted it.
    Oral Rehydration Salts are a lifesaving and inexpensive treatment for diarrhoeal disease, a leading cause of death for children around the world. It is cheap, effective and has been recommended by the World Health Organization for decades - so why is it under-prescribed? That’s a question that researchers at the University of Southern California set out to answer by sending ‘mystery patients’ to thousands of healthcare providers in India. Prof Neeraj Sood tells Claudia what they discovered.
    And, a new study suggests that if the fourth digit on the hand of a professional footballer is longer than their second digit, they can metabolise oxygen more efficiently. This comes on the back of previous research about how differences in finger length can be a marker of heart attack and severity of Covid-19. Can you really make predictions about someone’s health based on the way their hand looks?

    • 26 min
    Dengue outbreak in Latin America

    Dengue outbreak in Latin America

    Carnival hits the streets in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil this week. As well as preparations for the crowds and colourful processions, health authorities have also been putting in extra measures to try to contain a huge outbreak of dengue fever. Last week a health emergency was declared in the city. And as Claudia hears from Peruvian health journalist Fabiola Torres, cases are rising to levels not seen for decades across the whole of Latin America.
    Consultant in public health Dr Ike Anya is in the Health Check studio to take a deeper look at Dengue. He also brings news from Alaska, USA where an elderly man has become the first person to die from Alaskapox, a viral disease more commonly found in small animals like shrews and voles. And could new UK research on 50,000 people’s blood, help us get one step closer to a predictive blood test for Alzheimer’s disease?
    Claudia and Ike hear from British journalist Mike Powell who has serious kidney failure. Last week Mike’s kidney transplant operation had to be cancelled due to his donor’s health. He’s hoping for some better news this week.
    And Claudia speaks to Dr Ruth Namazzi at Makerere University in Uganda. She is co-author of new research that suggests that a common drug for treating the symptoms of sickle cell anaemia could have a transformative effect amongst children with the blood condition in sub-Saharan Africa.
    Presenter: Claudia Hammond
    Producers: Clare Salisbury and Ben Motley
    Assistant producer: Imaan Moin

    • 26 min
    Getting vaccinations to remote South Sudan

    Getting vaccinations to remote South Sudan

    The hospital in Old Fangak, South Sudan is extremely remote; it’s a place that can only be accessed by boat, using the river Nile. The airstrip has been flooded for the past four years – flooding that has also destroyed crops and drowned cattle. Since April 2023, 501 cases of hepatitis E have been treated at the hospital, and 21 people – mainly women – have died. Now, doctors have launched a vaccination campaign that targets women and girls in communities that are up to eight hours by canoe from the nearest healthcare facility. Matt Fox, Professor of Global Health Epidemiology at Boston University, tells Claudia Hammond about the challenge of distributing vaccinations in such a challenging environment.
    Matt also brings news of a study that suggests that up to 10% of patients diagnosed with dementia might actually have cirrhosis of the liver. Cirrhosis can cause cognitive impairment with a very similar presentation to dementia but, crucially, it’s reversible. A study of military veterans in the USA indicates that screening could prevent misdiagnosis.
    36% of all human rabies deaths in the world happen in India - 20,000 deaths every year. 97% of these deaths happen through infected dog bites. India has the largest number of stray dogs in the world and also the largest number of stray dog attacks - around 17 million dog bites annually. Chhavi Sachdev reports from Jaipur on an organisation that believes they’re on their way to making the city rabies free.
    As Chinese new year is celebrated around the world, we look at a foodstuff that is synonymous with the celebrations – eggs. Minchao Jin is a Clinical Associate Professor at NYU Silver School of Social Work in Shanghai, and he tells Claudia about his work assessing whether a hard-boiled egg a day can help the nutrition of schoolchildren in poor, rural parts of China.
    And it’s a frustrating week for journalist Mike Powell as he continues his journey towards a kidney transplant.
    Presenter: Claudia Hammond
    Producer: Ben Motley

    • 26 min

Customer Reviews

4.3 out of 5
102 Ratings

102 Ratings

Vix144 ,

Brilliant

Informative and interesting, recommended!

Tammy, UK ,

Repeats other podcasts

Too many sections taken from Inside Health. Either keep these podcasts separate or put on same feed.

Aminha Canela ,

Annoying presenter bit excellent research

“I’m Claudia Hammond...” how many times do you need to tell us? Get we just get on with hearing about the interesting research?

Top Podcasts In Health & Fitness

ZOE Science & Nutrition
ZOE
Feel Better, Live More with Dr Rangan Chatterjee
Dr Rangan Chatterjee: GP & Author
Huberman Lab
Scicomm Media
Just One Thing - with Michael Mosley
BBC Radio 4
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
iHeartPodcasts
Therapy Works
Julia Samuel

You Might Also Like

Inside Health
BBC Radio 4
CrowdScience
BBC World Service
All in the Mind
BBC Radio 4
Science In Action
BBC World Service
BBC Inside Science
BBC Radio 4
5 Live Science Podcast
BBC Radio 5 Live

More by BBC

Newscast
BBC News
Just One Thing - with Michael Mosley
BBC Radio 4
You're Dead to Me
BBC Radio 4
The Infinite Monkey Cage
BBC Radio 4
The Martin Lewis Podcast
BBC Radio 5 Live
Rugby Union Daily
BBC Radio 5 Live