https://opse.com.au/insights/ Evidence-based articles on longevity and preventive medicine by Dr Joshua Hatch, Opse Health, Brisbane. en-AU Sun, 20 Sep 2026 23:00:00 GMT https://opse.com.au/insights/smartwatch-atrial-fibrillation-alert-ecg/ https://opse.com.au/insights/smartwatch-atrial-fibrillation-alert-ecg/ 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. Preventive medicine Dr Joshua Hatch Sun, 20 Sep 2026 23:00:00 GMT https://opse.com.au/insights/faecal-occult-blood-test-negative-result/ https://opse.com.au/insights/faecal-occult-blood-test-negative-result/ 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. Preventive medicine Dr Joshua Hatch Sun, 13 Sep 2026 23:00:00 GMT https://opse.com.au/insights/coronary-calcium-score-primary-prevention/ https://opse.com.au/insights/coronary-calcium-score-primary-prevention/ 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. Preventive medicine Dr Joshua Hatch Wed, 09 Sep 2026 23:00:00 GMT https://opse.com.au/insights/low-trauma-fracture-secondary-prevention/ https://opse.com.au/insights/low-trauma-fracture-secondary-prevention/ 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. Healthy ageing Dr Joshua Hatch Wed, 02 Sep 2026 23:00:00 GMT https://opse.com.au/insights/lung-cancer-screening-australia-low-dose-ct/ https://opse.com.au/insights/lung-cancer-screening-australia-low-dose-ct/ 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. Preventive medicine Dr Joshua Hatch Sun, 30 Aug 2026 23:00:00 GMT https://opse.com.au/insights/potassium-enriched-salt-stroke-risk/ https://opse.com.au/insights/potassium-enriched-salt-stroke-risk/ 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. Preventive medicine Dr Joshua Hatch Wed, 26 Aug 2026 23:00:00 GMT https://opse.com.au/insights/semaglutide-cardiovascular-risk-select-trial/ https://opse.com.au/insights/semaglutide-cardiovascular-risk-select-trial/ 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. Preventive medicine Dr Joshua Hatch Sun, 23 Aug 2026 23:00:00 GMT https://opse.com.au/insights/psa-screening-australia-2026/ https://opse.com.au/insights/psa-screening-australia-2026/ 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. Preventive medicine Dr Joshua Hatch Wed, 19 Aug 2026 23:00:00 GMT https://opse.com.au/insights/white-matter-hyperintensities-mri-risk/ https://opse.com.au/insights/white-matter-hyperintensities-mri-risk/ 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. Preventive medicine Dr Joshua Hatch Sun, 16 Aug 2026 23:00:00 GMT https://opse.com.au/insights/cpap-sleep-apnoea-cardiovascular-events/ https://opse.com.au/insights/cpap-sleep-apnoea-cardiovascular-events/ 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. Preventive medicine Dr Joshua Hatch Wed, 12 Aug 2026 23:00:00 GMT https://opse.com.au/insights/h-pylori-stomach-cancer-prevention/ https://opse.com.au/insights/h-pylori-stomach-cancer-prevention/ 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. Preventive medicine Dr Joshua Hatch Tue, 11 Aug 2026 23:00:00 GMT https://opse.com.au/insights/aspirin-primary-prevention-older-adults/ https://opse.com.au/insights/aspirin-primary-prevention-older-adults/ 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. Preventive medicine Dr Joshua Hatch Wed, 05 Aug 2026 23:00:00 GMT https://opse.com.au/insights/rsv-vaccination-older-adults-australia/ https://opse.com.au/insights/rsv-vaccination-older-adults-australia/ 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. Preventive medicine Dr Joshua Hatch Wed, 29 Jul 2026 23:00:00 GMT https://opse.com.au/insights/clonal-haematopoiesis-ageing-blood/ https://opse.com.au/insights/clonal-haematopoiesis-ageing-blood/ 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. Ageing biology Dr Joshua Hatch Sun, 26 Jul 2026 23:00:00 GMT https://opse.com.au/insights/hearing-health-and-brain-ageing/ https://opse.com.au/insights/hearing-health-and-brain-ageing/ 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. Healthy ageing Dr Joshua Hatch Wed, 22 Jul 2026 23:00:00 GMT https://opse.com.au/insights/cellular-senescence-evidence/ https://opse.com.au/insights/cellular-senescence-evidence/ 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. Ageing biology Dr Joshua Hatch Sun, 19 Jul 2026 23:00:00 GMT https://opse.com.au/insights/why-immune-cells-accumulate-vitamin-c/ https://opse.com.au/insights/why-immune-cells-accumulate-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. Clinical article Dr Joshua Hatch Wed, 15 Jul 2026 23:00:00 GMT https://opse.com.au/insights/prevention-is-not-an-event-it-is-a-system/ https://opse.com.au/insights/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. Preventive medicine Dr Joshua Hatch Sun, 12 Jul 2026 23:00:00 GMT https://opse.com.au/insights/menopause-is-more-than-hot-flushes/ https://opse.com.au/insights/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. Women's health Dr Joshua Hatch Wed, 08 Jul 2026 23:00:00 GMT https://opse.com.au/insights/why-lose-weight-is-a-lazy-medical-plan/ https://opse.com.au/insights/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. Body composition Dr Joshua Hatch Sun, 05 Jul 2026 23:00:00 GMT https://opse.com.au/insights/exercise-is-the-most-powerful-longevity-medicine/ https://opse.com.au/insights/exercise-is-the-most-powerful-longevity-medicine/ 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. Exercise medicine Dr Joshua Hatch Wed, 01 Jul 2026 23:00:00 GMT https://opse.com.au/insights/why-vo2-max-matters-more-than-most-blood-tests/ https://opse.com.au/insights/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. Exercise medicine Dr Joshua Hatch Sun, 28 Jun 2026 23:00:00 GMT https://opse.com.au/insights/muscle-is-not-vanity/ https://opse.com.au/insights/muscle-is-not-vanity/ 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. Body composition Dr Joshua Hatch Wed, 24 Jun 2026 23:00:00 GMT