IMH trial to study efficacy of personalised transcranial magnetic stimulation for depression. Synopsis: Every first Wednesday of the month, The Straits Times helps you make sense of health matters that affect you. Researchers from the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) and the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine at the National University of Singapore are studying a new personalised treatment for resistant depression.  It is the personalised version of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS), a...

Get started on moderate intensity physical activity to stay healthy. Synopsis: Every first and third Wednesday of the month, The Straits Times helps you make sense of health matters that affect you. Singapore wants to be a healthier nation, and everyone needs to play their part by leading healthier lifestyles. This would only benefit the individual, but not everyone exercises regularly. And, if you have watched the popular Netflix documentary series Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones,...

Wearable tech can help us monitor our heart. Synopsis: Every first and third Wednesday of the month, The Straits Times helps you make sense of health matters that affect you. Today, we can easily find heart rate monitors in wearable devices like smartwatches and fitness trackers. As Singapore shifts the centre of gravity in healthcare from acute hospitals to the community with its preventive care strategy Healthier SG, such wearable technology will likely become more popular as they enable...

An ADHD diagnosis can help you make sense of your life. Synopsis: Every first and third Wednesday of the month, The Straits Times helps you make sense of health matters that affect you. The awareness of ADHD, or attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, a common neurodevelopmental condition is growing around the world and more people have been diagnosed with it. Yet, many do not know that they have it while others may not have a good understanding of the condition, in order to thrive with...

It is always good to start having end-of life conversations early. Synopsis: Every first and third Wednesday of the month, The Straits Times helps you make sense of health matters that affect you. There are some conditions that are difficult to treat, others possibly pointless to treat. Doctors know the limits of medical care and they can advise against further treatment, if the care is deemed futile.  In this episode, we will hear about the difficult decisions that some doctors and some...

It is always good to start having end-of life conversations early. Synopsis: Every first and third Wednesday of the month, The Straits Times helps you make sense of health matters that affect you. End-of-life planning is never easy. A better way could be to start the process early by planning for the life you want to lead and leave behind.  After all, death is a part of life, and it may be helpful to start thinking about it years before, said a palliative care doctor and a surgeon who does...

Learn about digital therapeutics. Synopsis: Every first and third Wednesday of the month, The Straits Times helps you make sense of health matters that affect you. Traditional healthcare is based on doctor and hospital visits, and it can take a long time to obtain appointments to see a healthcare professional. What if one day, an individual can be prescribed a digital therapy for their depression or other health issues remotely? He or she would not have to take any medications.  In this...

Find out more about menopause and what you can do about it. Synopsis: Every first and third Wednesday of the month, The Straits Times helps you make sense of health matters that affect you. Menopause is a natural part of aging but the time leading up to menopause, known as perimenopause, affects each woman differently. Associate Professor Rukshini Puvanendran, the head and senior consultant of Family Medicine Service, and the co-lead of KK Menopause Centre at ​KKH, said that while many...

Find out more about the possible support that companies can give to people with mental health conditions. Synopsis: Every first and third Wednesday of the month, The Straits Times helps you make sense of health matters that affect you. Content warning: This podcast discusses suicidal feelings. Having a mental health condition can make work life pretty challenging sometimes, so should you tell your bosses about it? How should you go about doing that and what can companies do to support...

Each follow on the audio apps below and a rating really helps us! Happy listening! Synopsis: A brand new feature is within The Straits Times app, which you can download from the Apple app store or the Google Play store. For those of you who already have it, the latest version update now has a dedicated Podcast Section, where you can listen to our latest incoming show episodes and check out back episodes too. You can also choose to follow our podcast RSS feeds, or the shows on Apple...

Find out what these 'circles' of resilience are. Synopsis: Every first and third Wednesday of the month, The Straits Times helps you make sense of health matters that affect you. Peer support groups are a regular gathering of persons with lived experiences of mental health conditions. They have come together to support one another, and the mental health support they offer is what you can only get from someone who has been where you are.  To learn more about peer support groups and the help...

Our guest is overseeing Singapore's three-phase National Precision Medicine programme. Synopsis: Every first and third Wednesday of the month, The Straits Times helps you make sense of health matters that affect you. Precision medicine - sometimes known as personalised medicine or health - is an innovative approach to tailoring disease prevention and treatment that takes into account differences in people's genes, environments, and lifestyles. Professor Patrick Tan, the executive director...

Gain insights into the usage of mental health apps, and whether or not to embrace them. Synopsis: Every first and third Wednesday of the month, The Straits Times helps you make sense of health matters that affect you. Mental health applications have grown in popularity over the years, with more employers turning to such apps to help improve their employees’ mental well-being.  They typically offer online guides and mental health information and can link users up with a counsellor or coach,...

The future of end-of-life options with dignity in Singapore. Synopsis: Every first and third Wednesday of the month, The Straits Times helps you make sense of health matters that affect you. Many people wish to die in the comfort of their own homes, surrounded by their loved ones. However, the reality is that it is not so easy to do so yet. In this episode, ST senior health correspondent Joyce Teo speaks with Ms Sim Bee Hia, the executive director of the Singapore Hospice Council, about...

Our guest shares her experience with depression and suicidal ideation and how she overcame the unhealthy thoughts. Synopsis: Every first and third Wednesday of the month, The Straits Times helps you make sense of health matters that affect you. Recent data from non-profit suicide prevention centre Samaritans of Singapore (SOS) showed that 476 suicide deaths were reported in Singapore in 2022, the highest since 2000. Of the deaths in 2022, 125 involved those aged 10 to 29. This was 13 more...

Our guests share how they dealt with their mental ups and downs. Synopsis: Every first and third Wednesday of the month, The Straits Times helps you make sense of health matters that affect you. ST Podcasts is five years old! To celebrate our 5th anniversary, we recorded this episode live in front of an audience at Temasek Shophouse with three guests, and the topic was on youth mental health.  Young people are a lot more open to talking about their mental health challenges these days, but...

How to create safer, healthier online environments to protect children. Synopsis: Every first and third Wednesday of the month, The Straits Times helps you make sense of health matters that affect you. In May, the United States surgeon general Dr Vivek Murthy, who is known as the nation’s doctor, issued an advisory on social media and youth mental health to warn young people of the possible effects of excessive social media use. Dr Murthy said that social media started only about a decade...

Find out too, why the link between the gut and brain must not be ignored. Synopsis: Every first and third Wednesday of the month, The Straits Times helps you make sense of health matters that affect you. IBS or irritable bowel syndrome is a common condition that causes recurrent episodes of diarrhoea, constipation, bloating, or abdominal pain. Stress can trigger or worsen it, which is why the link between the gut and brain or what is known as the gut-brain axis must not be ignored in the...

Find out why stress is not the root cause of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), though it can trigger or worsen IBS. Synopsis: Every first and third Wednesday of the month, The Straits Times helps you make sense of health matters that affect you. Many people think that stress can cause IBS or irritable bowel syndrome, a common condition that causes recurrent episodes of diarrhoea, constipation, bloating, or abdominal pain. But this is not true.  Stress can trigger or worsen IBS, but it is not...

Our guest explains the importance of parent-child relationships to build resilience in children. Synopsis: Every first and third Wednesday of the month, The Straits Times helps you make sense of health matters that affect you. In this episode, Straits Times senior health correspondent Joyce Teo invites educational psychologist Danielle Seah to talk about what parents can do to help build resilience in children. Ms Seah said parents need to spend the time and make the effort to connect and...

Find out how the Healthy Ketogenic diet recently developed by Dr Lim Su Lin, a chief dietitian at the National University Hospital, is different from traditional keto diets. Synopsis: Every first and third Wednesday of the month, The Straits Times helps you make sense of health matters that affect you. Dieting is very challenging for many people. In fact, most people regain the weight they lost, after a year, but what if you need to lose some weight because of your health? Obesity is, after...

Might this miracle drug be the answer to curing obesity? Synopsis: Every first and third Wednesday of the month, The Straits Times helps you make sense of health matters that affect you. Obesity is a huge and complex problem. It is linked to Type 2 diabetes, hypertension, obstructive sleep apnea, back pain and so many other health issues. However, there aren’t many anti-obesity medications out there.  Wegovy is not just a new prescription drug for those with obesity or high-risk body mass...

Our expert guests explain how mental health charity Mindset helps recovering patients. Synopsis: Every first and third Wednesday of the month, The Straits Times helps you make sense of health matters that affect you. Gaining employment can boost the self-esteem of someone who is recovering from a mental illness and facilitate their recovery. But the discrimination against people with mental illnesses may make it difficult for them to find work. The challenges that come with their illnesses...

Our expert guest discusses the importance of early detection. Synopsis: Every first and third Wednesday of the month, The Straits Times helps you make sense of health matters that affect you. In Singapore, around 2,000-3,000 people have a rare disease. One of them is Hereditary Angioedema or HAE, which is a rare genetic disorder that results in recurrent unprovoked swelling of various sites of the body, including the stomach, g******s or throat.  There are about 20 HAE cases in Singapore,...