The salt content of cheese sold in UK supermarkets remains high, despite many products meeting the recommended government targets on salt reduction, finds research published in the online journal BMJ Open. And salt content varies widely, even within the same type of cheese, the findings show, prompting the researchers to call for much tougher targets […]
Category: In the news
Premature newborn survival 30% higher in high volume neonatal centres
The survival of premature newborns in England is 30% higher in specialist units treating large numbers of neonates, reveals an analysis of national data published in BMJ Open. The advantage is particularly evident for very premature babies born after less than 27 weeks of pregnancy, where the figure rises to 50%, prompting the authors to […]
Poorly understood postural syndrome blights lives of young well educated women
A debilitating syndrome that causes an excessively rapid heartbeat on standing up, predominantly affects young well educated women, and blights their lives, because it is so poorly understood and inconsistently treated, reveals a small study published in the online journal BMJ Open. Postural tachycardia syndrome, or PoTS for short, is a by-product of orthostatic intolerance […]
Use of cement in partial hip replacement linked to risk of death
The use of cement in partial hip replacement surgery may be linked to a risk of death – often occurring within minutes – finds research published in the online journal BMJ Open. The risk is relatively rare. But the alarm was first sounded in 2009, and most of the cases that have come to light […]
Rates of pre-diabetes have tripled over past decade in England
The prevalence of pre-diabetes – higher than normal blood glucose levels – has tripled within the space of 8 years in England, reveals research published in the online journal BMJ Open. More than a third of adults in England now have pre-diabetes, the findings suggest, with those who are disadvantaged and of black and minority […]
Divorce may be linked to higher risk of overweight/obesity among kids involved
Divorce may be linked to a higher risk of overweight and obesity among children affected by the marital split, suggests research published in the on-line journal BMJ Open. Boys may be especially prone to excess weight gain, the findings indicate. The researchers base their findings on a nationally representative sample of more than 3000 pupils […]
Bringing old trials to light in BMJ Open
Today we have published the first trial prompted by the Restoring Invisible and Abandoned Trials (RIAT) initiative. Dr Tom Treasure from UCL, with colleagues from University of Sussex and Imperial College, have brought back from obscurity the results of the ‘CEA Second-Look’ trial. The study asked the question: in patients who have undergone a […]
The CEA Second-Look Trial: a randomised controlled trial of carcinoembryonic antigen prompted reoperation for recurrent colorectal cancer
A trial that remained unpublished for 20 years casts doubt on the survival benefit of repeat (“second look”) surgery for bowel cancer. The trial is published in BMJ Open today. It is the first to be restored under the restoring invisible and abandoned trials (RIAT) initiative that allows third parties to publish previously abandoned studies […]
Very overweight teens face stigma, discrimination, and isolation
Very overweight teens face a social world of stigma, discrimination, and isolation because of their body size, reveals an analysis of their views, published in the online journal BMJ Open. And they have to overcome many other additional barriers to lose weight, making it especially hard for them to shed the pounds, the findings suggest. […]
Lower salt intake likely to have had key role in plummeting cardiovascular disease deaths in past decade
The 15% fall in dietary salt intake over the past decade in England is likely to have had a key role in the 40% drop in deaths from heart disease and stroke over the same period, concludes research published in BMJ Open. But average intake across the nation is still far too high, warn the […]