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Insights · Where the evidence actually leads

Longevity and preventive medicine insights.

Articles by Dr Joshua Hatch on screening, heart and metabolic risk, exercise, body composition and healthy ageing. Measured, referenced and free of hype.

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Featured · Preventive medicine

Smartwatch atrial-fibrillation alerts: detection is not diagnosis.

A smartwatch can flag an irregular pulse, but atrial fibrillation still requires an interpretable ECG. Screening trials find more silent AF; the reduction in strokes is smaller and less certain.

21 Sep 2026 7 min read

All articles

Abstract scientific composition of paired sample signals moving through repeated screening windows in cool navy, muted purple and warm stone
Preventive medicine

Faecal occult blood test (FOBT): what a negative result does—and does not—mean.

A negative faecal occult blood test (FOBT) means no blood was found in those samples. It is one round in a repeated screening programme—not an all-clear, a symptom assessment or an inferior stand-in for colonoscopy.

14 Sep 2026 7 min read
Abstract scientific composition of mineral signals passing through a selective decision field in cool navy, muted purple and warm stone
Preventive medicine

Coronary calcium scoring: when the scan can change a prevention decision.

A coronary calcium score can refine cardiovascular risk when a treatment decision remains uncertain. It is not a general heart screen, a test for blocked arteries or proof that scan-guided care prevents events.

10 Sep 2026 7 min read
Abstract scientific composition of a fractured mineral plane connected to a coordinated pathway of layered bone-like structures in cool navy, muted purple and warm stone
Healthy ageing

One low-trauma fracture changes future risk.

A fracture after a fall from standing height can be the first clinical sign of osteoporosis. Australian guidance treats it as a trigger for bone-health assessment and secondary prevention, even before a scan confirms very low bone density.

3 Sep 2026 7 min read
Abstract scientific composition of mineral-like signals passing through translucent scan planes into three calm follow-up paths in cool navy, muted purple and warm stone
Preventive medicine

Lung screening: why the scan is for people without symptoms.

Australia now offers free low-dose CT screening to a defined high-risk group. The mortality evidence is real, but a screening nodule is not a cancer diagnosis and symptoms follow a different pathway.

31 Aug 2026 7 min read
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Preventive medicine

Potassium-enriched salt and stroke: who the evidence fits.

A 20,995-person trial found fewer strokes after villages switched household salt. The result came from high-risk adults, and the potassium component creates an important safety boundary.

27 Aug 2026 7 min read
Abstract scientific composition of two layered pathways separated by a precise boundary in cool navy, muted purple and warm stone
Preventive medicine

Semaglutide and cardiovascular risk: the 6.5% versus 8.0% result.

Semaglutide reduced major cardiovascular events from 8.0% to 6.5% in SELECT. The result applies to people with established cardiovascular disease—not to healthy primary prevention.

24 Aug 2026 7 min read
Abstract scientific composition of layered navy screening pathways dividing into a small number of bright signals and a larger field of muted branches
Preventive medicine

PSA screening: two fewer deaths and 36 more diagnoses.

Long-term trials suggest PSA screening can prevent some prostate-cancer deaths, while also finding many more cancers. Australia’s 2026 guideline changes what should happen before and after the blood test.

20 Aug 2026 7 min read
Abstract scientific illustration of fine branching channels crossing layered navy and warm-stone fields, with scattered pale signals concentrated along part of the network
Preventive medicine

White-matter changes on MRI: common is not the same as harmless.

White-matter hyperintensities are common on brain MRI with age. They are not a dementia diagnosis, but they can be a prompt to find and manage cardiovascular risk that might otherwise remain hidden.

17 Aug 2026 7 min read
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Preventive medicine

CPAP and heart risk: what treating sleep apnoea has—and has not—proved.

CPAP reliably holds the airway open and reduces daytime sleepiness. In randomised trials of people with established cardiovascular disease, it has not yet been shown to prevent heart attack or stroke.

13 Aug 2026 7 min read
Abstract scientific illustration of small curved bacterial forms interrupting layered stone-like gastric patterns, with the disrupted region becoming calmer beyond a dividing arc
Preventive medicine

H. pylori and stomach cancer: when treating an infection changes future risk.

Treating confirmed H. pylori infection can reduce later stomach-cancer risk. The absolute benefit depends on where and in whom treatment occurs, and it does not make population screening automatic in Australia.

12 Aug 2026 7 min read
Abstract scientific composition of smooth stone channels, interrupted forms and a fine fissure representing the competing effects of clot prevention and bleeding
Preventive medicine

Daily aspirin before a first heart event: the bleeding trade-off.

Low-dose aspirin can prevent some first cardiovascular events, but major bleeding rises by a similar amount. In healthy older adults, the balance is less favourable than its familiar reputation suggests.

6 Aug 2026 6 min read
Conceptual scientific illustration of stable prefusion-like molecular forms arranged in a protective lattice, with muted viral-particle motifs at the edge
Preventive medicine

RSV vaccination after 75: what Australia’s new program means.

Australia now funds an RSV vaccine for adults aged 75 and over, and for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults from 60. The evidence is meaningful, but age, baseline risk, duration and rare adverse events still matter.

30 Jul 2026 6 min read
Conceptual scientific illustration of diverse blood-cell lineages branching from a shared stem cell, with one muted-purple clone expanding
Ageing biology

Clonal haematopoiesis: when blood cells branch with age.

Some blood stem cells acquire mutations and expand into detectable clones as we age. CHIP is not inherited and is not cancer, but its meaning depends on context.

27 Jul 2026 6 min read
Abstract scientific illustration of sound-wave patterns interacting with a structured network of luminous points
Healthy ageing

Hearing health and brain ageing: what the evidence actually shows.

Hearing loss is associated with cognitive decline, but association is not proof of cause. A major randomised trial offers a more useful message: hearing care matters, while its effect on cognition may depend on baseline risk.

23 Jul 2026 6 min read
Conceptual scientific illustration of varied cells, including an enlarged senescent-like cell releasing molecular signals
Ageing biology

Cellular senescence: promising biology, unfinished medicine.

Senescent cells are often described as ageing cells that should be removed. The new human evidence is more nuanced: these states are diverse, sometimes useful, and not yet a proven target for extending healthy life.

20 Jul 2026 6 min read
Conceptual educational image of human neutrophils with segmented nuclei and an ascorbate motif
Clinical article

Why do immune cells accumulate so much vitamin C?

Some immune cells concentrate vitamin C to 10–100 times plasma levels. The reason lies in how neutrophils kill pathogens — and it reframes what supplementation can and can't do.

16 Jul 2026 7 min read
Conceptual preventive-care feedback loop connecting movement, sleep, nutrition and clinical review
Preventive medicine

Prevention is not an event. It is a system.

Most prevention doesn't fail for lack of motivation. It fails because the structure around the plan disappears after the first burst of action. Why durable risk reduction needs a feedback loop.

13 Jul 2026 4 min read
Five Brisbane women in midlife and older age sharing a relaxed moment outdoors
Women's health

Menopause is more than hot flushes.

Reducing menopause to hot flushes misses the bigger clinical picture — sleep, mood, bone density, cardiometabolic risk, body composition, and genitourinary health. Why menopause care needs governance, not guesswork.

9 Jul 2026 5 min read
A human DEXA body-composition assessment with Dr Joshua Hatch at the workstation
Body composition

Why 'lose weight' is a lazy medical plan.

'Lose weight' gives a patient a target, not a clinical strategy. A better plan looks at body composition, visceral fat, lean mass, metabolic markers and function — not just the number on the scale.

6 Jul 2026 9 min read
A midlife adult performing controlled resistance exercise under professional supervision
Exercise medicine

Exercise is still the most powerful longevity medicine we have.

Wearables, blood tests and supplements all have a place — but none replace the fundamentals. Why exercise, prescribed with the seriousness of medication, still sits at the centre of any serious longevity plan.

2 Jul 2026 10 min read
A human VO₂ max test using a metabolic mask and cycle ergometer with Dr Joshua Hatch monitoring
Exercise medicine

Why VO₂ max matters more than most blood tests.

Blood tests tell us about risk. VO₂ max tells us about capacity — the aerobic reserve that protects independence. Why functional measures belong alongside the bloods, and why reserve has to be built before it's needed.

29 Jun 2026 8 min read
A midlife woman performing a controlled kettlebell exercise with safe form
Body composition

Muscle is not vanity. It is metabolic and functional insurance.

Muscle isn't about appearance. Skeletal muscle drives glucose disposal, protects against falls and frailty, and preserves independence with age — and strength matters at least as much as mass. Measure it, train it, preserve it.

25 Jun 2026 8 min read

Information on this website is general and educational, not a substitute for individual medical advice. Clinical content is reviewed and dated. Opse Health is not an emergency service.

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