Welcome to the Aurora top 20. If you've not seen this chart before, we welcome you to our monthly analysis of national print coverage of therapeutic areas and health-related issues. Whilst topics move and shake each month, one thing remains certain: health and wellness makes for newsworthy stories and demands column inches. Aurora keeps its collective finger on the media pulse to ensure that our clients' messages are delivered effectively. Below we present you with what's been hot and why in the UK national press during the month of August.

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In August, the usual health topics secured the top of the chart. Heart disease / cholesterol kept the number one spot and nutrition shunted up to second place. Broad issues relating to cancer remained in the top three. Issues relating to obesity showed significant movement up the chart: from 17th place in July to fourth in August. Both pregnancy and mental health issues also showed substantial movement: from 16th to fifth, and 14th to seventh respectively. Asthma punched its way back into the chart and took ninth place.  Five new topics entered the chart, covering a range of issues from weight loss to foot and mouth disease.

Now we delve deeper into some of August's issues:

Asthma. GSK received a range of coverage in relation to Advair during this top 20 period. GSK announced unexpected increases in net profit due to the sale success of the product. In other asthma news, a range of newspapers reported that living near to roads may increase risk of asthma. American researchers suggested that children with a genetic propensity for asthma are up to nine times more likely to develop the disease if they live near to a busy road.

Schizophrenia. The Sunday Times reported that for the first time ever, scientists have genetically engineered a mental illness in an animal - producing schizophrenic mice. It is hoped that this development will provide significant assistance to research and development initiatives.  The link between cannabis and schizophrenia was again iterated in the press and it was reported that left handed people are at increased risk of developing schizophrenia, due to both conditions sharing the gene LRRTM1. It was also reported that more than 3.5 million people in the UK over the age of 65 experience mental health problems, including schizophrenia, and that the figure is likely to continue to grow.

Coverage of foot & mouth disease was intense during the second week of August when a farm in Surrey was found to be infected. The incident was the first of its kind in six years, and followed the disastrous infection of 2,000 animals in 2001 and the slaughter of many more. The Department for Food, Environment and Rural Affairs (Defra) swung into action and an exclusion zone was rapidly placed around the Surrey farm. A national ban on the movement of animals was also put in place. Within the same weekend the papers reported a potential second outbreak in the same area. It was discovered that the likely source of the virus was a private laboratory located only four miles away from the first farm.  The government's strategy this time round seemed to be effective and the Chief Veterinary Officer, Debbie Reynolds, handled the media well. The national ban on the movement of cattle was lifted later in the month after the outbreak was controlled.

Pregnancy. The debate about ‘when to cut the umbilical cord' continues, with a senior lecturer in obstetrics stating that waiting just three minutes after birth to clamp or cut the cord increases the child's iron level to an extent that may reduce the risk of blood disorders. Sadly, it was reported that a woman gave birth to her still-born child in an NHS toilet due to staffing shortages at a hospital in Essex. Media pressure on shortcomings in maternity services continued in August, with reports that pregnant women are being diverted significant distances to receive child-birth care. The Daily Mail also reported that children born to single parents are three times more likely to die before their first birthday than those born to married couples.

A vast amount of coverage related to heart disease / cholesterol in August and guaranteed its place at the top of the chart.  The link between pollution and heart disease had two separate media outings, with one story focusing on research from Mexico City that suggests a link between childhood exposure to high levels of traffic pollution and adult heart disease.  It was also reported that high density lipo-protein cholesterol (HDL-C) may not be as healthy as was once thought.

The Sunday Times reported that certain GP surgeries across the country were using their NHS patient lists to advertise private screening services, including screening for heart disease - probably not what was intended by those who campaigned for greater access to heart disease preventative services! Later in the month, Professor Roger Boyle, The Department of Health's ‘Heart Czar' called for all men over the age of 50 to be given statins. However, ‘superpills' for heart disease and stroke were criticised by some doctors for encouraging unhealthy lifestyles amongst those who use them. Further warnings about statins came in the British Medical Journal, with regards to prescribing the medication to elderly people. In the Netherlands, doctors recommended the use of statins in children to treat familial hypercholesterolemia, a rare genetic disorder characterised by very high levels of ‘bad' cholesterol.

August also saw the ‘pot belly' covered in relation to heart disease - with reports that even the smallest of expanded tummys may be an indicator for heart disease. Some readers will have taken heart from a study of civil servants reported in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, which shows that walking three times a week for 30 minutes may cut the risk of a heart attack.

And finally, it was reported that modern, busy, stressful lifestyles are causing individuals to experience an increased number of memory lapses per week, and that these lapses are most likely to occur on weekdays between midday and eight in the evening.  Following Nicole Kidman's lead, Aurora has introduced Nintendo DS lunchtime brain training sessions to keep us running at optimal performance! Now, where did I put my pen?

To find out if your therapeutic area moves or shakes in September, keep your eyes peeled for the next Aurora top 20.

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Aurora strives to apply quantitative, qualitative and emotional understanding of health issues to client communication programmes. Dove-tailing informed PR activity with the media's appetite enables us to assist clients with communicating their vision.

To find out more, contact Neil Crump or Claire Eldridge on 020 7424 7940. 

The top 20 chart provides our interpretative snap-shot of health stories in the national press and is based upon a quantitative process. Analysis based on news from the 26 July to 25 August 2007.