meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Log in
Inside Health

Pollution, Falls in the elderly, False positives and negatives, Meningitis B and teenagers

Inside Health

BBC

Health & Fitness, Science

4.4575 Ratings

🗓️ 29 September 2015

⏱️ 29 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

As cars were banned from central Paris this weekend and the health risks of pollution hit the headlines, Mark Porter examines the statistic that pollution kills 29,000 people a year in the UK.

And he visits a pioneering clinic at Southampton General Hospital where falls in the elderly are seen as a risk factor for underlying health problems; 'Having a hip fracture is like having a heart attack or stroke' explains Dr Mark Baxter. 50% of people who have a hip fracture will have previously presented with a fall, but once they go on to break a hip, 1 in 10 elderly people may not be alive at the end of the month and up to 25% by the end of the year. Many elderly people are found to be on multiple treatments - blood pressure pills or bladder pills for example - that make people fall over. In recent years there has been much more attention paid to the cumulative burden of the side effects of medicines in the elderly - particularly the group of commonly used drugs known as Anticholinergics. And according to new research by a team at the University of East Anglia, taking Anticholinergics increases the risk of falls too - particularly in men.

Following news of the Meningitis B vaccine in children, an Inside Health listener got in touch to ask why it wasn't being given to teenagers in light of data showing that there is a second peak in incidence in the disease among 15 - 19 year olds? Mark talks to Professor Andrew Pollard, Chair of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation.

And Inside Language: Dr Margaret McCartney and Professor Carl Heneghan demystify the terminology of medicine and research. This week, false positives and false negatives; when is something not what it seems, and when does it seem what it's not?

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Hello, you're about to listen to a BBC podcast, and I'm Ed Gamble, host of another BBC podcast,

0:05.4

The Traitors Uncloaked. But my show is available only on BBC Sounds, just like Ellis and John's

0:10.6

Saturday bonus episodes, the Pop Top Ten podcast with Scott Mills and Ryland, and comedy specials

0:16.2

from the likes of Harriet Kemsley, Susie Ruffel and Rommas Shranger Nathan. However, and maybe I'm biased, it's really all about the traitors uncloked.

0:24.3

So for a whole bunch of exclusive scoops and podcasts, listen only on BBC Sounds.

0:29.4

Hello, thank you for listening to this edition of Inside Health.

0:32.1

I hope you enjoy it.

0:33.3

Coming up today, slips, trips and falls.

0:36.5

I visit a pioneering clinic that treats breaking a bone

0:40.0

as an important clue to underlying health problems

0:42.8

ranging from low blood pressure to dementia.

0:46.1

50% of people who've had a hip fracture

0:47.8

will have previously broken something else.

0:50.4

So you've already presented there with a risk for further problem.

0:53.7

I think that was a missed opportunity, potentially.

0:55.7

A fall, for me, highlights a very significant potential underlying risk.

1:00.0

If you look at something like a hip fracture, it's very similar to having like a heart attack or a stroke.

1:04.9

It's that level of severity.

1:07.7

More on falls later as well as false positives and false negatives. When is something

1:13.4

not what it seems and when does it seem what it's not? We continue our series on the

1:19.4

confusing terminology used in research and trials and meningitis B. Babies are now routinely being

1:26.4

immunised against the disease, but teenagers

...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of BBC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.

Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.