Health Report

Urgent care clinics are getting $1.8 billion in this year's federal budget to make them a permanent part of Australia's health system. We speak to the Health Minister Mark Butler about the decision.
'Fitspo' content that sometimes glamourises a ripped bod or restrictive ways of eating could be flooding your social feed - what do we know about its effect on our mental health?
And 'phage therapy' - a novel form of treatment aimed at providing an alternative to antibiotics. What are bacteriophages, how does this therapy work and how far off is it from showtime?
Plus, success for Australia in eliminating trachoma - an infectious eye disease - as a public health issue. 
References:
Australia becomes the 30th country to eliminate trachoma as a public health problem
Mpox disease epidemiology, vaccine uptake and vaccination coverage in Australia 2022–2024: a descriptive study
Hantavirus-hit cruise ship leaves Cape Verde after three evacuated
Major budget boost means Medicare Urgent Care Clinics are here to stay
Lifting the Screen on Fitspiration: A Meta-Analysis
Cross-reactive anti-prophage antibodies and bacterial heteroresistance implicated in phage therapeutic failure

A new review suggests there may be biomarkers linked to irritable bowel syndrome, typically a diagnosis of exclusion.
How you get followed up after going to the doctor with symptoms of bowel cancer is shaped in part by where you live.
People can now access their diagnostic and pathology results digitally, and for one woman in Brisbane that meant spotting a breast cancer finding that might otherwise have been missed. 
References:
Serological and faecal markers of irritable bowel syndrome: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Variations in the investigation of colorectal cancer-related symptoms in Australian primary care: a retrospective cohort study
Outbreak of diptheria in the Kimberley.
Nine-Valent Human Papillomavirus Vaccination and Related Cancers in Males
An estimated 450,000 diabetics will miss out on subsidised Mounjaro after negotiations stalled

Two thirds of women report concerns over memory loss, concentration or other cognitive symptoms during menopause. What do we understand about what's going on, and how can it be managed?
A new plan for improving asthma outcomes in Australia and ending that reliance on the blue puffer.
Understanding how the genes we're born with could shape our risk of some cancers in childhood - with implications for adults too.
And the links between home cooking and dementia - with studies suggesting slicing and dicing at home (instead of eating out more often) could have a protective effect for your cognition.
References
RSV Vaccine - Department of Health
Home cooking, cooking skills and dementia requiring long-term care: a population-based cohort study in Japan
Typology of out-of-home eaters: a description of sociodemographic, lifestyle, nutritional and environmental characteristics in the NutriNet-Santé cohort
Gender and age differences in weekend eating habits: associations with fat mass percentage in a cross-sectional study
Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists and risk of substance use disorders among US veterans with type 2 diabetes: cohort study
Heart-nosed bat alphacoronaviruses use human CEACAM6 to enter cells
Advances in understanding of cognitive symptoms during menopause
A Bold Blueprint for Asthma Reform in Australia
Integrated germline and somatic molecular profiling to detect cancer predisposition has a high clinical impact in poor-prognosis paediatric cancer

Can you trust the advice ChatGPT Health gives about whether you should go to the hospital or not?
Who is using GLP-1 weight loss drugs and how common are they?
New guidelines for supporting young people with suicidal ideation or who self-harm.
And more findings that drugs removing amyloid from the brain don't help prevent dementia.
References:
Intensive LDL Cholesterol Targeting in Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease
Municipal water fluoridation, adolescent IQ, and cognition across the life course
Andrographis paniculata (Andrographis) and anaphylaxis - updated safety review and supplementary report
Amyloid‐beta‐targeting monoclonal antibodies for people with mild cognitive impairment or mild dementia due to Alzheimer’s disease
ChatGPT Health performance in a structured test of triage recommendations
Initiators of Semaglutide in General Practice in New South Wales, 2020–2023: A Retrospective Cohort Study
Suicide and Non-Suicidal Self-Injury in Children and Adolescents
Suicide and intentional self-harm hospitalisations among young people
Generational effects in self-reported age of onset for youth suicidal ideation, self-harm and attempted suicide: A retrospective analysis using data from the Australian National Study of Mental Health and Wellbeing, 2020–2022

When a medical emergency happens in space, how is it treated? And what does life in Antarctica have to teach us about staying healthy on a spaceflight?
Findings from a large study of Australian teenagers find links between school connection, sleep and mental health trajectories through adolescence.
If you have a shoulder injury and suspect it's the rotator cuff, should you have a scan? You might find more than you bargained for.
And how badly should you want to hang on to your appendix in the case of appendicitis? Is it better to jettison it or keep it in there?
References:
Association between GLP-1 receptor agonist use and worsening mental illness in people with depression and anxiety in Sweden: a national cohort study
Retraction: Cosmetic talc powder
Oncologic Risk of Missed Appendiceal Tumors in Acute Appendicitis
Future Proofing Study - Research Insights 2026
Incidental Rotator Cuff Abnormalities on Magnetic Resonance Imaging