Do pet ownership really reduce mortality?
Anecdotal evidence suggests that having a pet reduces cardiovascular mortality. Does it? You can imagine that trying to conduct a scientific can be difficult. There are many factors to consider: pre-existing risks profile of the pet owner, physical activity before and after pet ownership, marital status of the owner. Do pet ownership benefit men or women more? Well, the evidence is rather conflicting though. It is still worthwhile examining the evidence because if the benefits are there, we should be recommending pet ownership to many of all of you.Continue Reading
Nut consumption and weight change – is it positive or negative?
11th October 2019. Dr Chee L Khoo We all know that weight management is not as simple as a calories in calories out equation. Increasing nut consumption in particular, in theory, can cause weight gain because of nuts’ energy density but it doesn’t always translate to weight gain. In fact,Continue Reading
Pancreatic cancer screening – why are we not there yet?
10th September, 2019. Dr Chee L Khoo Let’s face it. We all dread the diagnosis of pancreatic cancer in any of our patients. There aren’t too many red flags that we can rely on to warn us that something is not right with this deep seated abdominal organ. Many ofContinue Reading
Cardiovascular health – are eggs in or out?
First, it’s not good, then it’s Ok and now we are not sure. Maybe it is, maybe it isn’t. We are talking about eggs and the association with cardiovascular disease and mortality. It’s stuck in many of our and our patients’ minds that eggs are no good. It doesn’t helpContinue Reading
Lost weight but found it again – does the body remember the good times?
Dr Chee L Khoo, 14th June 2019 We all know how frustrating it is regaining the weight that you have lost. All those hard earned efforts down the drain. You often wonder why it happens to you. Well, you are not alone. “Most” people who successfully lose weight regain themContinue Reading
Can drugs or supplements improve sperm quality?
When couples present for investigations of infertility, semen analysis is one of the earliest investigations we order. Every so often, the results come back with reduced sperm numbers, motility or normal forms. It is frustrating as a GP when we are unable to advise them what they can take toContinue Reading
A failing Medicare is more than just out of pocket expenses
One of the great advantages of being a runner is that wherever you go, all you have to do is pack a pair of running shoes and the world is your oyster. During a recent visit to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, I went out running on the local streets. It wasContinue Reading
Do all overweight kids develop diabetes? If not, who does?
Do all fat kids become diabetics? If not, who does? As GPs we often see little kids already carrying extra weight and we know that many of these will go on to become overweight or obese adults. Many overweight kids and overweight adults will go on to develop type 2Continue Reading
GPs look after type 2 diabetes as good as the diabetes centres
70-80% of patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) are managed in primary care in Australia. Patients managed in hospital based outpatients have the advantage of multi-disciplinary team care. They have dietitians, credentialled diabetes educator (CDE), physiotherapists and of course, the endocrinologist in the team. On the other hand, we, asContinue Reading
Blood pressure tablets and lung cancer – is there a concern?
Most of you would have read about the recent study linking some medications used to treat blood pressure to the risk of lung cancer. This was published in the British Medical Journal last week. it was a bit of a surprise to some extent although once the dust settled, it wasn’tContinue Reading