80% of respondents’ children exposed to skin bleaching products were under 2 years old Aesthetic preferences trumped knowledge of health risks, responses indicated A significant proportion of under 5s in Nigeria may be being exposed to skin lightning products, if the results of a semi-urban community survey are indicative, suggests research published in the open […]
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Top 10 most read in October 2025 – algorithms, singing, vaping, smartphone use and fast food!
As we draw ever closer to the end of 2025, let’s take a minute to look back at our top ten most read BMJ Open papers of October. Since September, we have seen four new entries in our top ten most read list. At number four is a multi-national cohort study conducted by Mølgaard-Nielsen et […]
Top 10 most read in September 2025 – white coats, sci-fi gadgets, and more!
Since our last Top 10 blog in July, there have been nine new entries on the list of most-read articles published in BMJ Open. Top of the most-read list was a systematic review update by Kim et al. The authors analysed 28 studies from 2015-2025 on patients’ perceptions of physician attire. They concluded that […]
World Heart Day 2025 – editor’s pick of recently published qualitative studies on heart health at BMJ Open
BMJ Open publishes papers on a wide range of topics and study designs and with a global perspective. In acknowledgement of World Heart Day 2025, we highlight some of our recent papers that consider patients’ voices via qualitative studies within the broad topic area of cardiovascular health. The research questions and study settings are diverse, […]
Large social and economic inequalities persist among UK doctors
Professional background linked to 6-fold greater likelihood of becoming a doctor than working class background Greater efforts needed to boost social mobility of medical school applicants, say researchers Large social and economic inequalities persist among UK doctors, with those from a professional background 6 times more likely to become a medical practitioner than those from […]
Top 10 most read in July: Risk of myocardial infarction and stroke following urinary tract infection, chronic health consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on school workers, development and preliminary evaluation of a cervical screening informed-choice tool for women with severe mental illness
Image by <a href (Pixabay) In July, we had five new articles to enter our top ten most read list. The Top 10 is compiled based on full text views, including downloads of the full article PDFs. Risk of myocardial infarction and stroke following microbiologically confirmed urinary tract infection: a self-controlled case series study using […]
Most US neurologists prescribing MS drugs have received pharma industry cash
Higher volume prescribers more likely to receive payments; and recipients more likely to prescribe that company’s drugs, especially if payments were larger, sustained, and recent Nearly 80% of US neurologists prescribing drugs for multiple sclerosis (MS) received at least one pharma industry payment, with higher volume prescribers more likely to be beneficiaries, finds a 5 […]
Patients still view doctor’s white coat as symbol of professionalism and trust
But women doctors in this attire are often misidentified as nurses or medical assistants And preferences for doctors’ dress strongly influenced by clinical context/medical specialty Patients are still more likely to trust doctors and consider them more professional when they wear white coats, although women doctors in this attire are often misidentified as nurses or […]
Childhood verbal abuse shows similar impact to adult mental health as physical abuse
While often not immediately obvious, its effects may be no less damaging or protracted Prevalence of verbal abuse has risen substantially while that of physical abuse has halved Experiencing childhood verbal abuse shows a similar impact to adult mental health as physical abuse, suggests a large intergenerational study, published in the open access journal BMJ Open. […]
Top 10 most read in June: Informal caregiving following stroke, timing of mechanical ventilation and the effect of nebulised inhalation of antibiotics
In June, six new articles entered our top ten most read list. The Top 10 is compiled based on full text views, including downloads of the full article PDFs. Informal caregiving following stroke: a qualitative exploration of carer self-identification, care-related language and support experiences Our most read new entry is a qualitative study from Harcourt […]