Between 25% and 50% of men have done so in all continents over past 200 years Sometimes large differences in life expectancy mask substantial overlap in lifespan Men have a high probability of outliving women—especially those who are married and have a degree—reveals a statistical analysis spanning 200 years across all continents of the globe […]
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Editor’s Picks 2022: Patient and Public Involvement Research
In June’s blog post we highlighted some of BMJ Open’s most impactful papers of 2022 so far based on Altmetric score, which collates mentions of research articles across various sources including news reports, blogs and social media platforms. But Altmetric scores only pick up one facet of research impact. Another important way of making clinical […]
Minimum unit alcohol pricing may not be curbing drinking in those most at risk
Levels fell more in women who don’t drink as heavily as men after introduction of policy Policy not linked to reduced consumption in younger, deprived, or heaviest drinking men Associated with an increase in consumption among 5% of heaviest drinkers The introduction of minimum unit pricing (MUP) for alcohol may not be curbing drinking in […]
Water births provide “clear benefits” for healthy mums and their newborns
Less need for intervention during/after the birth plus greater satisfaction for mums Water births provide “clear benefits” for healthy mums and their newborns, with fewer interventions and complications during and after the birth than standard care, as well as higher levels of satisfaction for the mum, finds a synthesis of the available evidence, published in […]
Wearable activity trackers + AI might be used to pick up presymptomatic COVID-19
Fertility tracker identified indicative physiological changes up to 2 days ahead of symptoms Wearable activity trackers that monitor changes in skin temperature and heart and breathing rates, combined with artificial intelligence (AI), might be used to pick up COVID-19 infection days before symptoms start, suggests preliminary research published in the open access journal BMJ Open. The […]
Top 10 BMJ Open papers by Altmetric score—2022 so far
Among the various criticisms of traditional journal metrics is that, given the timelines involved in academic research and publishing, metrics based on citations alone cannot capture the attention received by publications in the period immediately after publication, nor the wider impact beyond the academic research community. Other data can help to show which recent publications […]
Men with prostate cancer have higher risk of serious blood clots
Male prostate cancer patients have a 50% higher risk of dangerous blood clots than men without prostate cancer New research published in the online journal BMJ Open suggests that men with prostate cancer have a 50% higher risk of developing serious and potentially fatal blood clots during the five years after their cancer diagnosis compared […]
Opioid overdose death toll has risen more than 5-fold among Indigenous Americans over past decade
Type of opioid involved might have changed, but not underlying social factors driving trends The opioid overdose death toll has risen more than 5-fold among American Indian and Alaska Native communities over the past decade, finds one of the first studies of its kind published in the open access journal BMJ Open. The type of opioid […]
“Promising evidence” that osteopathy may relieve musculoskeletal pain
But little to back its use in children, or for the treatment of migraine or irritable bowel syndrome There’s “promising evidence” that osteopathy, the physical manipulation of the body’s tissues and bones, may relieve the pain associated with musculoskeletal conditions, finds a review of the available clinical evidence, published in the open access journal BMJ Open. […]
Top 10 most read in February: adverse childhood experiences and COVID-19, caffeinated energy drinks and children, and ‘brain fog’ after COVID-19
It is unsurprising that COVID-19 still dominates our top 10 list. In February, we saw a large number of new articles enter our top 10 most read list; three of which have been highlighted below. Associations between adverse childhood experiences, attitudes towards COVID-19 restrictions and vaccine hesitancy Bellis et al. conducted a cross-sectional telephone […]