In February, we saw five new papers enter BMJ Open’s list of top 10 most read articles. New entries include a protocol for a systematic review and meta analysis that aims to examine the effects of physical activity interventions on the BMI of children and adolescents in Latin america, and a study into the use of alternative weighting procedures for the German Index of Multiple Deprivation (GIMD) and their associations with mortality.  

New in at number one is a cross sectional study that evaluated the socioeconomic gradients of adverse birth outcomes and related maternal factors in Alberta, Canada. Ospina et al evaluated the socioeconomic gradients by using provincial health data and found that there was an unequal distribution of adverse birth outcomes and related risk factors across the socioeconomic gradient in urban-rural settings, with high concentrations in groups in rural areas with lower socioeconomic status. 

Also new in at number five is a qualitative study about the use of hormones in transgender women in Nepal. Regmi et al aimed to explore what hormones are used and how they are used, along with what side effects are experienced by transgender women by conducting interviews and focus groups. They found that most of the study participants found information about hormone therapy from peer networks and online. They also found that most participants bought hormones from private pharmacies or abroad with friends, with only a few participants approaching a doctor for a prescription. 

Lastly, new in at number eight is a study that investigated the effects of introducing pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to men who have sex with men in Sweden using a mathematical pair formation model. Hansson et al concluded that targeting PrEP programmes towards high risk individuals could see a significant decrease in the long-term HIV prevalence in Sweden.