Shingles https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/239892/2013181_Shingles_QA_for_healthcare_professionals_final.pdf   http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Shingles/Pages/causes.aspx http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/vaccinations/Pages/shingles-vaccine-questions-and-answers.aspx https://www.gov.uk/government/news/phe-welcomes-changes-to-the-uk-vaccination-programme   http://www.medicines.org.uk/emc/medicine/25927 http://www.immunisationscotland.org.uk/vaccines-and-diseases/shingles.aspx https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/shingles-vaccination-training-slideset-for-healthcare-professionals http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD008858.pub2/abstract;jsessionid=3EF93E51CA456D8329387F2C82B3ED40.d01t01   Caffeinated alcohol http://cot.food.gov.uk/pdfs/cotlaystatementcaffalco201204.pdf http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm350570.htm http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/PublicHealthFocus/ucm234900.htm http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3038341/ http://www.bmj.com/content/347/bmj.f5345

Free link to BMJ feature

Calcium supplements http://archinte.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1568523 http://annals.org/article.aspx?articleid=1655858 http://www.bmj.com/content/341/bmj.c3691.long http://cjasn.asnjournals.org/content/5/Supplement_1/S3.abstract

Sunscreens http://dtb.bmj.com/content/49/6/69.abstract http://dtb.bmj.com/content/49/6/61.extract http://jco.ascopubs.org/content/29/3/257.long http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0140673698121682   http://cebp.aacrjournals.org/content/15/12/2546.long   Breast cancer screening http://www.cancerscreening.nhs.uk/breastscreen/publications/ia-02.html   http://www.cochrane.dk/screening/mammography-leaflet.pdf

cervical screening http://www.cancerscreening.nhs.uk/cervical/about-cervical-screening.html http://www.bmj.com/content/326/7395/901 http://www.bmj.com/content/339/bmj.b2968 bowel screening http://www.cancerscreening.nhs.uk/bowel/bowel-scope-screening.html http://gut.bmj.com/content/early/2011/11/22/gutjnl-201 http://www.cancerscreening.nhs.uk/bowel/publications/the-facts.html1-300843.full http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD001216.pub2/full dementia Click to access ess-dementia.pdf http://www.bmj.com/content/345/bmj.e8588?ijkey=d9TRTbB8ZT4ym82&keytype=ref http://www.gponline.com/News/article/1175972/GPs-check-millions-dementia-DES-plans-show/ health checks http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3607818/ Click to access ta094guidance.pdf http://www.thennt.com/nnt/statins-for-heart-disease-prevention-without-prior-heart-disease/ AAA screening http://aaa.screening.nhs.uk/aaascreening http://www.bmj.com/content/338/bmj.b2307 Breast Click to access breast-screening-review-exec.pdf

  GPs are now paid to chase up people who have not returned their bowel cancer screening pack.   This is the letter that we are being sent from the screeners when a patient doesn’t sign up. There is no room for the possibility that some people might weigh up the pros and the cons […]

Thank you for inviting me for an NHS Health Check. Your invitation letter says that this is “helping you prevent heart disease, stroke, diabetes and kidney disease.” However, there is no randomised controlled evidence that this is the case. There is evidence that population screening like this results in overtreatment and overdiagnosis. You have provided […]

RE Ruby Wax on Today this am (at 1 hr 44 mins, here http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-23663295) and Giles Fraser here (http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/belief/2013/aug/09/pills-unhappiness-reinforces-sad-human) Comment is free : http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/aug/12/depression-unhappiness-antidepressants-overprescribed http://jaha.ahajournals.org/content/2/2/e000068.full http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15920049 http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-244X/10/77/ http://www.bmj.com/content/339/bmj.b3999 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2629838/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2734353/ I recommend www.scottishrecovery.net and don’t forget the http://www.samaritans.org/. Mental illness is one of the most rewarding conditions to be privileged to help people with. People […]

AAA screening (bottom line; it’s complicated. If you are considering having it done, I’d recommend spending a bit of time on some of the excellent resources NHS Screening offer.) http://aaa.screening.nhs.uk/searchwebsite.php?searchstring=tag:Leaflets http://aaa.screening.nhs.uk/patientfilms http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=GEuBrMCevo0 http://aaa.screening.nhs.uk/questions http://www.bmj.com/content/338/bmj.b2307   Referral management centres (bottom line; referrals BJGP research paper; they don’t reduce referrals and are more expensive http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/rcgp/bjgp/2013/00000063/00000611/art00036 Referral rates […]

Omega 3’s and prostate cancer (bottom line; this recent one wasn’t a very impressive study, and  their press release overstated the findings;  but omega-3’s have no proven clinical advantage in preventing dementia, reducing cancer, reducing all cause mortality, or reducing cardiovascular disease, thus I wouldn’t recommend them anyway.) http://jnci.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2013/07/09/jnci.djt174.full   http://www.fhcrc.org/en/news/releases/2013/07/omega-three-fatty-acids-risk-prostate-cancer.html   http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1357266   http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/97/3/531.long […]