The growing use of artificial stone has seen the emergence of an aggressive, progressive respiratory disease, which is causing silicosis in young people. Dr. Johanna Feary¹ ² joins Thorax's Dr. Kate Diomede in the studio, to discuss. They talk through some the UK's earliest cases, the background to this phenomenon, international response, and the broader history of silicosis as a disease.

Links:

• Artificial stone silicosis: a UK case series
• Relationship between cumulative silica exposure and silicosis: a systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis 

1. National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College, London, UK
2. Department of Occupational Lung Disease, Royal Brompton Hospital, London, UK

Please engage in the conversation through the social media channels (Twitter - @ThoraxBMJ; Facebook - Thorax.BMJ) and subscribe on your preferred platform, to get the latest episodes directly on your device each month. We would love to hear your thoughts on the podcast, you can leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

A special journal club episode featuring guest-hosts Dr. Kristina Montemayor and Dr. David Furfaro of the PulmPEEPs. They're joined in conversation with Thorax education editor Dr. Christopher Turnbull, and Dr. Imran Howell, author of a recent journal club article in Thorax. Focussing on the theme of airway disease, they discuss the four papers in Imran's roundup, covering topics from nutritional impact on tuberculosis rates to infant vaccination against RSV.

Links:

• Journal club
• Blood eosinophil-guided oral prednisolone for COPD exacerbations in primary care in the UK (STARR2): a non-inferiority, multicentre, double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomised controlled trial
• Nutritional supplementation to prevent tuberculosis incidence in household contacts of patients with pulmonary tuberculosis in India (RATIONS): a field-based, open-label, cluster-randomised, controlled trial
• The airway microbiome mediates the interaction between environmental exposure and respiratory health in humans
• Respiratory syncytial virus infection during infancy and asthma during childhood in the USA (INSPIRE): a population-based, prospective birth cohort study
  
  

For more from the PulmPEEPs, visit their podcast's website. You can find them Twitter (@PulmPEEPs) and Instagram (pulmpeeps), and hear past episodes on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

To submit a journal club article of your own, you can contact Chris directly - [email protected]

Please engage in the conversation through the social media channels (Twitter - @ThoraxBMJ; Facebook - Thorax.BMJ) and subscribe on your preferred platform, to get the latest episodes directly on your device each month. We would love to hear your thoughts on the podcast, you can leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

A new clinical statement from the British Thoracic Society was recently published in Thorax. It describes a building-block approach for how to manage patients with tobacco dependency in a hospital setting. Thorax podcast host Dr. Kate Diomede speaks with two of the authors, Prof. Sanjay Agrawal (1) and Dr. Matthew Evison (2). 

Read the statement: Medical management of inpatients with tobacco dependency

Further reading:

• NCSCT online training
• NCSCT briefings and practice guidance

(1) Department of Respiratory Medicine, Glenfield Hospital, Institute for Lung Health, Leicester, UK

(2) Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester, UK

Please engage in the conversation through the social media channels (Twitter - @ThoraxBMJ; Facebook - Thorax.BMJ) and subscribe on your preferred platform, to get the latest episodes directly on your device each month. We would love to hear your thoughts on the podcast, you can leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

What are the effects of high levels of social media consumption amongst young people? New research published in Thorax quantifies the impact that exposure to marketing on online platforms is having, showing a greater likelihood of smoking or vaping with greater time spent on these platforms. Thorax associate editor Prof. Nick Hopkinson (1) joins Dr. Kate Diomede to discuss the paper's findings.

Read the paper: Association of time spent on social media with youth cigarette smoking and e-cigarette use in the UK: a national longitudinal study 

(1) Prof. of Respiratory Medicine, Imperial College London, Respiratory Consultant, Royal Brompton Hospital, Associate Editor of Thorax, Chair of ASH (Action on Smoking in Health) UK Charity
https://twitter.com/COPDdoc

Please engage in the conversation through the social media channels (Twitter - @ThoraxBMJ; Facebook - Thorax.BMJ) and subscribe on your preferred platform, to get the latest episodes directly on your device each month. We would love to hear your thoughts on the podcast, you can leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

Asthma prevalence is increasing around the world, and is theorised to be due to a number of environmental factors. One such factor is a sensitivity to house dust mite (HDM) allergens, which is common in asthma patients. Dr. Klaus Bønnelykke (1) joins the podcast to speak with Dr. Kate Diomede about this topic, following the publication of the paper, "Genetic and T2 biomarkers linked to the efficacy of HDM sublingual immunotherapy in asthma".

(1) Copenhagen Prospective Studies on Asthma in Childhood, Copenhagen University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark

Please engage in the conversation through the social media channels (Twitter - @ThoraxBMJ; Facebook - Thorax.BMJ) and subscribe on your preferred platform, to get the latest episodes directly on your device each month. We would love to hear your thoughts on the podcast, you can leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

Socioeconomic deprivation is a driving factor in lung cancer rates. With the roll out of a national lung cancer screening programme in the UK, it's important that the right invitation strategies are used for reaching community members who may be at risk. This episode, Dr. Patrick Goodley (@patrick_goodley) joins host Dr. Kate Diomede to discuss the recent paper, "Invitation strategies and participation in a community-based lung cancer screening programme located in areas of high socioeconomic deprivation."

Please engage in the conversation through the social media channels (Twitter - @ThoraxBMJ; Facebook - Thorax.BMJ) and subscribe on your preferred platform, to get the latest episodes directly on your device each month. We would love to hear your thoughts on the podcast, you can leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

What impact do reproductive events, like menarche, miscarriage or menopause have on female lung health? Prof. Gita Mishra (1) joins Thorax host Dr. Kate Diomede to discuss this question. They consider how recurrent fertility issues can point to an increased risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease later in life, and how variance in oestrogen levels throughout the lifespan affect lung development. The conversation is centred around the recently-published study, "Female Reproductive Histories and the Risk of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease" (https://doi.org/10.1136/thorax-2023-220388).

(1) School of Public Health, University of Queensland, Australia

Relevant links:

A Life Course Approach to Women's Health (2nd ed):
https://academic.oup.com/book/46697

Please engage in the conversation through the social media channels (Twitter - @ThoraxBMJ; Facebook - Thorax.BMJ) and subscribe on your preferred platform, to get the latest episodes directly on your device each month. We would love to hear your thoughts on the podcast, you can leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

(1) National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, London, UK

Please engage in the conversation through the social media channels (Twitter - @ThoraxBMJ; Facebook - Thorax.BMJ) and subscribe on your preferred platform, to get the latest episodes directly on your device each month. We would love to hear your thoughts on the podcast, you can leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

(1) Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery and Audiology, Rigshospitalet – Copenhagen University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark

Please engage in the conversation through the social media channels (Twitter - @ThoraxBMJ; Facebook - Thorax.BMJ) and subscribe on your preferred platform, to get the latest episodes directly on your device each month. We would love to hear your thoughts on the podcast, you can leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

In a conversation touching on diet, fat distribution, and inflammatory pathways, Dr. Hayley Scott (1) speaks with host Dr. Kate Diomede about the recent paper, “Effect of obesity on airway and systemic inflammation in adults with asthma: a systematic review and meta-analysis".

Read the article here: https://thorax.bmj.com/content/78/10/957 

(1) School of Biomedical Sciences and Pharmacy, The University of Newcastle, NSW, Australia

Please engage in the conversation through the social media channels (Twitter - @ThoraxBMJ; Facebook - Thorax.BMJ) and subscribe on your preferred platform, to get the latest episodes directly on your device each month. We would love to hear your thoughts on the podcast, you can leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

Dr. Wei Shen Lim (1) joins Thorax's podcast host and social media editor Dr. Kate Diomede to talk over the recent research paper, “Readmission following hospital admission for community-acquired pneumonia in England”.

Read the article here: https://thorax.bmj.com/content/early/2023/07/28/thorax-2022-219925

(1) Department of Respiratory Medicine, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, Nottingham, UK

Please engage in the conversation through the social media channels (Twitter - @ThoraxBMJ; Facebook - Thorax.BMJ) and subscribe on your preferred platform, to get the latest episodes directly on your device each month. We would love to hear your thoughts on the podcast, you can leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.