Top 10 Most Read in April: Effect of pasta on body weight in GI diets, maternal caffeine intake and childhood weight, and the effectiveness and safety of surgery for endometriosis

April saw five new papers enter into BMJ Open’s top 10 most read articles. In first place is a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials that aimed to examine the effects of pasta on body weight and measures of adiposity in adults following a low glycaemic index (GI) diet. Compared to those assigned to a higher-GI diet, the body weight and BMI of adults eating pasta on a low GI diet was reduced. However, Chiavaroli et al. caution that the included trials only assessed pasta in the context of low GI dietary patterns so results shouldn’t be generalised to other diets or to adults who are not dieting. Furthermore, none of the trials assessed the effect of pasta alone and most did not quantify the amount of pasta consumed.

Other new entries include an observational cohort study from Norway by Papadopoulou et al. that examined the relationship between caffeine intake during pregnancy and childhood growth and overweight. Using data from 50,943 mothers recruited from 2002 to 2008 and their children, the authors found that caffeine intake during pregnancy was associated with a higher risk of excess infant growth and of childhood overweight, mainly at preschool ages, suggesting that mothers should reduce their caffeine intake during pregnancy.

New at number 4 is a cohort study from specialist endometriosis centres in the UK estimating the effectiveness and safety of laparoscopic surgical excision of rectovaginal endometriosis. The authors found significant reductions in patient reported symptoms and surgical complications as well as improvements in quality of life at 2 years postsurgery. Lastly at number 8 is another systematic review and meta-analysis that found a moderate association between premenstrual syndrome risk and alcohol consumption. The authors caution that reverse causation cannot be ruled out and as the meta-analysis was of observational studies, residual confounding may have biased the results.

Rank	Author(s)	Title
1	Chiavaroli et al.	Effect of pasta in the context of low-glycaemic index dietary patterns on body weight and markers of adiposity: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials in adults
2	Papadopoulou et al.	Maternal caffeine intake during pregnancy and childhood growth and overweight: results from a large Norwegian prospective observational cohort study
3	Xie et al.	Risk of death among users of Proton Pump Inhibitors: a longitudinal observational cohort study of United States veterans
4	Byrne et al.	Laparoscopic excision of deep rectovaginal endometriosis in BSGE endometriosis centres: a multicentre prospective cohort study
5	Khaw et al.	Randomised trial of coconut oil, olive oil or butter on blood lipids and other cardiovascular risk factors in healthy men and women
6	Ashton et al.	Do emotions related to alcohol consumption differ by alcohol type? An international cross-sectional survey of emotions associated with alcohol consumption and influence on drink choice in different settings
7	Sadler et al.	Risk of perinatal mortality in the first year of midwifery practice in New Zealand: analysis of a retrospective national cohort
8	del Mar Fernández et al.	Premenstrual syndrome and alcohol consumption: a systematic review and meta-analysis
9	Hurst et al.	Effects of changes in eating speed on obesity in patients with diabetes: a secondary analysis of longitudinal health check-up data
10	Watkins et al.	Effects of health and social care spending constraints on mortality in England: a time trend analysis

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