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| | | BUILDING A HEALTHIER BRITAIN
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Go to the Listen Again page | | | | | Richard Hannaford examines the research behind medical advice. | | | |
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Since the 1950s doctors have continuously researched people's health and lifestyle. Richard Hannaford examines the results of these epidemiological studies: some have given simple answers and saved hundreds of thousands of lives, while the results of others are confusing and highly controversial.
| | |  | | | Richard Hannaford |
1. Diabetes
Early research in the 1990s suggested that babies born with a lower birth weight were at increased risk of developing diabetes in later life. This work has now moved on to show that the weight you put on after birth is more crucial.
How effective is physical exercise on the rate of developing diabetes, and just how much exercise do you need to do in order to protect yourself?
Richard Hannaford follows the population studies that have found the answers to these and other questions about the emergence of this condition.
 Listen again to Programme 1 | |  | | |
2. Fluoride
Adding fluoride to the water supply has always been a polarised debate. Some think it will prevent tooth decay while others say its safety has not been proven.
Its not a new argument, 50 years of fluoridation studies are available but recently public health officials of both Scotland and England have revisited the issue.
The difference is that Scotland has decided against increasing the amount of fluoride in the water, while in England the Strategic Health Authorities can, after consultation, request that Water Companies add fluoride to an agreed level.
Richard Hannaford asks whether science can ever solve this controversy.
Listen again to Programme 2 | |  | | |
3. Dementia
Many of us feel that as we grow older, memory loss and dementia are inevitable.
With people living longer nowadays this could well be true, yet few large population studies have been done to study whether the problem is getting worse. Dementia is a difficult condition to research as many different factors are responsible for its development.
Some people can put their dementia down to a specific head injury, others might have vascular problems like stroke or heart disease that could account for their symptoms and yet no two cases are the same.
Richard Hannaford goes in search of what we do know about dementia and what we need to find out in order to provide better services for our ageing population.
Listen again to Programme 3 | |  | | |
4. Schizophrenia
One person in a hundred suffers from schizophrenia and among some groups, especially migrants; the incidence appears to be even higher. Schizophrenia still carries a stigma and many sufferers refuse to accept that they have the condition.
Over the last two decades, psychiatrists have standardised the diagnosis of schizophrenia to include a range of symptoms like delusions and hallucinations. But doctors are still at a loss to explain what actually causes the disease.
Is there a genetic influence? Why do women typically present with schizophrenia ten years after men? And why are young black men more than six times likely to be diagnosed with the condition?
Richard Hannaford follows the population studies that have highlighted these anomalies and thrown up interesting theories about the cause of this disease.
Listen again to Programme 4 | | |
RELATED LINKS | | | Building a Healthier Britain - Series 1:
Heart Disease, Cot Death, Breast Cancer and Social Status
Southampton Women's Survey
MRC Epidemiology at Southampton
Cambridge Diabetes Research Group
EarlyBird Diabetes Study
Diabetes UK
The Department of Health
York centre for Review and Dissemination
British Fluoridation Society
British Dental Association
National Pure Water Association
Alzheimer's Society
MRC CFAS study website
Newcastle General Hospital - Institute for Ageing and Health
The Mental Health Foundation
NARSAD
BBC Health: Mental Health
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