September has been a turbulent month across the world. Hurricane Ike hit the Caribbean and Texas and its force was felt across mid-West America and as far as Iceland; at the same time the Southern most island of Japan was hit by a typhoon. But the storm was not only a weather-related incident; global financial markets took a battering in September with multiple events putting the markets in turmoil including; the American Government bailing out mortgage lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and insurance company AIG; Lehman Brothers filing for bankruptcy; Merrill Lynch being bought out by Bank of America; HBOS being taken over by Lloyds TSB; Bradford and Bingley being nationalised in the UK and further bank failure occurring in America, Germany and Belgium, to mention a few events.

Despite all the global doom and gloom that overshadowed last month, healthcare stories continued to demand significant column inches and, in fact, gained more mentions in the national press than in the previous month. Perhaps this reflects the robust nature of health news and the current perceived stability of the pharmaceutical industry. Please read on to find out more. 

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September saw lots of movement in the top 20 chart with eight re-entries and three new entries. The top three topics remained the same as the previous month, although nutrition and obesity swapped position. Other notable movement in the chart included the topics of heart attack and diabetes jumping from 13th position to seventh, and ninth to fourth respectively, whilst cholesterol-related issues fell from 12th to 19th position.

Below we explore some of the topics that engaged the Aurora office during September.

Asthma. Continuing on the stormy theme, a story in the Daily Express reported American data that show asthma-related hospital visits are three per cent higher on days following thunderstorms. A number of newspapers reported the initiation of clinical trials of a compound that may stop allergic reactions, offering individuals with asthma and hayfever some potential hope. A paper published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology was covered in the broadsheets that suggests children who spend a significant amount of time with other youngsters are less like to develop asthma later in life; Aurora speculates that this might add weight to the ‘hygiene hypothesis' of allergic diseases. Other research reported in September suggested a link between regular childhood paracetamol consumption and the risk of developing asthma. Lead investigator, Professor Richard Beasley, was reported to contextualise the implication of the study data by saying: "We stress the findings do not constitute a reason to stop using paracetamol in childhood. However the findings do lend support to the current guidelines of the World Health Organization (WHO), which recommend that paracetamol should be reserved for children with a high fever."

MRSA and Clostridium difficile. Both superbugs lurked back into the chart in September. The Daily Telegraph reported that some cases of cot deaths may be due to an MRSA-related bacterial infection and potential ‘superbug' treatments/approaches were covered including light-activated drugs and bug destroying paint. Perhaps of greater interest, data released from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) gained widespread coverage because it suggested that mentions of Clostridium difficile on death certificates has increased by 28% in a one-year period. Using the data as an opportunity to score political points, Andrew Lansley, the shadow health secretary, was reported in The Guardian to say: “It is tragic that so many people are dying unnecessarily each year from Clostridium difficile. The vast majority of these deaths could have been avoided if the Government had only taken the right action at the right time.” Later in the month, nearly every newspaper reported that rates of MRSA have dropped by a third in a year, based on data published by the Health Protection Agency (HPA). Aurora noted that the stories relating to HPA and ONS data seemed to contradict each other in terms of whether healthcare associated infections (HAIs) are being dealt with effectively and asked itself, are rates really going up or down? A golden nugget of a quote, reported in The Times, provides a potential explanation for the data discrepancy. Professor Brian Duerden, Inspector of Microbiology and Infection Control at the Department of Health was reported to say in relation to the ONS data that: "In July 2005, we wrote to the NHS to make clear that we wanted infections such as MRSA and C. difficile to be reported more accurately on death certificates. We believe the rise in the number of C. difficile cases recorded as a contributing factor on death certificates does not represent a rise in actual deaths, but primarily an increase in awareness and reporting."  What's that famous quote about statistics?

Alcohol abuse/legislation sloshed back into the chart with The Daily Mail and The Daily Telegraph reporting that binge drinking causes almost two thirds more hospital admissions in young people than previously thought. An interesting Government-funded study was also reported which suggested that BBC and commercial radio Station DJs frequently talk about binge-drinking and being hungover at work; the report revealed that 75% of examined radio extracts encouraged drinking and only two per cent discouraged excessive drinking. Commenting upon the study, lead investigator Professor Norma Daykin was reported to say: "The notion of not drinking alcohol to enjoy yourself, particularly at times of celebration such as Christmas and New Year, seemed unthinkable." Public health minister Dawn Primarolo was reported to echo Professor Daykin's dismay, saying: "It's disappointing that so many of our radio stations glorify being drunk. I'd urge DJs to come up with more creative ways of engaging with their listeners." In the same month, the Department of Health identified nine personality types that are likely to be heavy drinkers at risk of liver damage, including; de-stress drinkers, conformist drinkers, boredom drinkers, depressed drinkers, re-bonding drinkers, community drinkers, hedonistic drinkers, macho drinkers and border dependents. Individuals constituting these drinking groups were reported to cost the NHS in England about £2.7 billion per year. This situation is not likely to improve during these testing financial times.

Life expectancy spawned into the chart this month as a new entry. A couple of issues propelled the topic into sixteenth position, but the one that caught Aurora's eye was a WHO report covered across all broadsheets, and in The Daily Mail, that identified social rather than genetic factors to be responsible for the massive world variations, both intra and inter countries, in health and life expectancy. Pertinent to the UK, the report stated that a child born in Glasgow may expect a life 28 years shorter than another living only 13 kilometres away. Commenting on the findings, the Commission said: "(The) toxic combination of bad policies, economics, and politics is, in large measure responsible for the fact that a majority of people in the world do not enjoy the good health that is biologically possible," and added that "social injustice is killing people on a grand scale."

And finally, the ‘red tops' reported this month that eating dark chocolate every day for two weeks may reduce blood pressure and the risk of heart attack and stroke. Aurora ponders that if we eat equal amounts of dark chocolate and white chocolate, would that not be a balanced diet?

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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 August to 25 September.