The nights are drawing in, the clocks have gone back (or anti-clockwise to avoid confusion) and hats and scarves are at the ready as temperatures drop and cheeks become rosy. To keep warm and healthy this season, the Aurora team have lots of social jollities planned as well as a very busy working run-up to Christmas and the New Year. That may seem a premature forecast, but the festive season will be here and bringing an end to the noughties before you can say two-thousand-and-ten! Below is an analysis of how news coverage of health issues is being shaped by seasonal progression and other social and media trends.

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H1N1, the stubborn swine, insists on bathing in the media mud at the top of the Aurora chart for its sixth month on the trot. Besides a three-month-run from cancer last winter and one from heart disease in the chart's first months back in early 2007, swine flu eclipses all other entrants on longevity in pole position and three months more would see it equalling cancer and nutrition as the most prolific top 20 toppers.

Whereas swine flu subsided last month in its volume of media coverage, in October the number of column inches has expanded significantly. This is presumably due to colder weather and the school and university terms being well under way. As we approach Christmas and the New Year, fears and concerns about swine flu picking up pace again are being expressed in the media and by some experts. However, extrapolating from the impact of swine flu in the Southern Hemisphere, whose winter flu season has now passed, it is debatable as to whether these fears will be fully realised. Only time will tell.

Elsewhere in the table however, there has been some interesting movement. There were seven re-entries this month, with some old media favourites, including depression, exercise and heart disease, returning to top 20 status as well as the first time inclusion of life expectancy in the chart.

As ever, it is interesting to analyse and speculate on the influential factors behind the proliferation of various therapeutic areas in UK print media so the broader picture around some of these health issues is explored in more detail below.

Heart disease, as mentioned above, has undergone a curious retraction from the media eye. In 2007, heart disease was number one in the Aurora chart four times, twice as often as its nearest rivals. Having not made the top 20 at all last month and being modestly placed this month at number 13, one wonders what has caused this reduction in interest in this therapeutic area that used to command far greater attention from news editors and consumers. Aurora's insights on the heart disesase related topic of cholesterol communication was covered in a recent blog post.

In October, the stories responsible for reinstating heart disease in the chart had a tendency to frame heart disease in terms of other therapeutic areas or health issues. For example, heart disease incidence is reportedly down as a direct result of the smoking ban, and even exposure to green spaces reduces likelihood of experiencing the condition. Meanwhile, The Telegraph reported this month that Britain could be on the verge of a heart disease ‘epidemic' due to increased obesity and an ageing population. So perhaps a media resurgence of heart disease coverage will follow too, unless everbody quits smoking and moves to the countryside.

Life expectancy makes its first ever appearance in our chart this month. This is largely due to the ageing population issue mentioned above in relation to heart disease. Increasing life expectancy is an interesting notion and resultantly a popular news topic. On the one hand, “increased life expectancy” suggests living to a ripe old age in health and comfort while on the other hand, an “ageing population” implies excess strain on the NHS and the next generation of workers, and conjures up images of hoards of elderly people queuing at doctor's surgeries. Whatever your opinion of it, the stats are undeniable. The Daily Express reported this month that 11,000 people in the UK have reached the big 100 and wide coverage appeared of experts' claims that most babies born today can also look forward to a birthday card from the monarch. Maybe QEII will still be handing them out. It would certainly keep her busy!

It is, of course, the age old holy grail to find the elixir of life and never have to grow old. This may explain why stories about wonder pills and “spare parts” that extend life spans have been covered this month. People love to hear about new discoveries and technologies that will keep them young. However, advances in general medical practice are the real primary cause of lengthened human lives and some heralded miracle youth potions should certainly be taken with a pinch of salt. The real issue here is that of quality of extended life. Are scientists and medical practitioners improving life or just delaying death? Researchers at The University of Leeds would argue the former, as they embark on a £50 million, five-year programme to develop methods to give people 50 active years over 50.

Cervical cancer climbed 16 places to reach third spot this month. In addition to the extensive coverage of rising numbers of women attending smear tests, affectionately now known as the 'Jade Goody effect', there was also broad national coverage of the tragic story of the 14 year old girl from Coventry who died in the hours after receiving GSK's cervical cancer vaccine, Cervarix. The media seized upon this story and the response from GSK was timely and accurate, clearly demonstrating they cared and were commited to immediate investigation. This was doubtlessly a troubling time for the teenage girls and their parents who had or were about to receive the vaccination. The subsequent news that an underlying medical condition caused the girl's death and not the vaccine was comprehensively covered. This reinforces the essential nature of quality healthcare communications practice.

Depression/anxiety is back in the chart this month, as the weather gets gloomy and nights get dark. As with much of the health news this month, various therapeutic areas find coexistence in the same articles. Depression in particular has been associated with a range of other health issues in October, perhaps in order to give perspective to this condition that affects many people in very different ways around this time of year. The causes of depression for those affected can be confusing and leave one feeling a lack of control over their emotional state.

This month the media proposed various ways to avoid the winter blues. The Independent reported that risk of depression can be cut by 30 per cent by adopting a Mediterranean diet (is there nothing a Mediterranean diet can't do for health?!), a potentially very enjoyable way to keep yourself happy. As already mentioned, depression can be linked to limited access to green spaces. Working and living in London, as the Aurora team do, one becomes accustomed to the concrete jungle but, according to The Daily Telegraph, living near green spaces makes you less likely to experience depression. Even if you're an urban dweller, there's no excuse not to get out to your nearest park or even out into the greenbelt from time to time - it's really not that far. Loneliness is another condition cited as a cause of depression and anxiety. So, with the festive but cold period just around the corner we need to huddle for warmth and, in the words of Bob Marley, “let's get together and feel alright”. We could all head off for a slap up Italian meal somewhere scenic in the Home Counties?

So, what has been revving up the news in October? Let's take a look at the Aurora rev-counter, which aims to provide a snapshot of what's driving the health news each month:

The health news spectrum this month was dominated more so than usual by the two top news story drivers, health service delivery and independent research, which account for three in every four health stories printed in October. The pharma industry and political domain share roughly equal proportions of the remainder with patient and professional groups in last place and ‘other' stories down to just one per cent this month.

Criticism of health service delivery and new research into treatments and methods always capture journalists' imaginations and it is a sensible assumption that these stories are not 'news release' driven but rather have been actively sought out by journalists, leaving organisation-driven coverage with less than 25 per cent of health news coverage. As healthcare communicators, we must appreciate and work with this trend in our media relations. Aurora has recently created online press centres for clients, as an evolving web resource that can track a developing story. It is undoubtedly more of a challenge to proactively secure coverage these days but improving strategic communications in all areas is the name of the game.

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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 +44 (0) 20 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 September 2009 to 25 October 2009.