But review confirms alcohol best avoided ‘just in case’, say researchers The evidence for the potentially harmful effects of light or occasional drinking in pregnancy is ‘surprisingly limited,’ but women are still better off avoiding all alcohol while pregnant, just in case, concludes a pooled analysis of the available data, published in the online journal […]
Category: In the news
People with disabilities face major hurdles accessing healthcare in UK
Disabled women are particularly disadvantaged People with disabilities in the UK face major hurdles accessing healthcare, reveals research published in the online journal BMJ Open. Disabled women are particularly disadvantaged, the findings show around one in five (19%) people in the UK is thought to live with a disability, but little is known about their access […]
Improvised explosive devices inflict much more serious injuries than land mines
Multiple amputations much more likely The types of close contact injuries inflicted by improvised explosive devices (IEDs) are much more serious than those associated with land mines, finds research published in the online journal BMJ Open. Landmines came into widespread use in the Second World War, where they were designed to injure/maim rather than to […]
Drugs to curb excess stomach acid may be linked to heightened risk of death
May be time to restrict use of widely available proton pump inhibitors, say researchers Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs)—a widely available class of drug designed to curb excess stomach acid production—may be linked to a heightened risk of death, indicates research published in the online journal BMJ Open. Given how widely available these drugs are, and […]
Study reveals lack of supporting evidence for claims about fertility treatments
Many claims made by UK fertility clinics about the benefits of treatments beyond standard IVF procedures are not backed up by evidence, finds a study published in the online journal BMJ Open. These can range from £50 for a single screening blood test to as much as £8000 for egg freezing packages. The researchers, led […]
Pre-teens whose dads embrace parenthood may be less prone to behavioural issues
How new fathers see themselves in child’s early years seems to be most influential Kids whose dads adjust well to parenthood and feel confident about their new role may be less likely to have behavioural problems in the run-up to their teens, indicates research published in the online journal BMJ Open. It’s how fathers see […]
London 2012 Olympics inspired many local kids to get more involved in sport
But levels of physical fitness significantly worsened The London 2012 Olympic Games inspired many local children to get more involved in sport, reveal the results of a before and after study, published in the online journal BMJ Open. But this inspiration did not translate into improved physical fitness, levels of which declined significantly in the […]
‘Worried well’ may be boosting their risk of heart disease
Potential consequences of health anxiety underlines need to treat it, say researchers People who needlessly worry that they have, or will develop, serious illness—popularly referred to as ‘the worried well’—may be boosting their risk of developing heart disease, suggests research published in the online journal BMJ Open. Anxiety is a known risk factor for heart […]
Current system unlikely to pick up surgeons with above average patient death rates
Performance within ‘expected’ range not good enough to detect outliers, say researchers Publishing the patient death rates of individual surgeons in England is unlikely to pick up those whose mortality rates are above average, because the caseload varies so much, concludes the first analysis of its kind published in the online journal BMJ Open. Performance […]
Women catching up with men in alcohol consumption and its associated harms
Trend most evident among young adults, international analysis shows Women are catching up with men in terms of their alcohol consumption and its impact on their health, finds an analysis of the available international evidence, spanning over a century and published in the online journal BMJ Open. The trend, known as ‘sex convergence’, is most evident […]