Work stress, workload, understaffing driving out health professionals from NHS

Pay increases alone may not be sufficient to fix NHS staff retention, researchers suggest Work stress, high workload, and understaffing are the primary factors driving health professionals out of the NHS, suggest the results of a survey published in the open access journal BMJ Open. The findings prompt the researchers to suggest that pay increases alone […]

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Around 1 in 3 UK medical students plans to leave NHS within 2 years of graduation

Pay, work-life balance, and working conditions key drivers for decision, finds survey Around 1 in 3 UK medical students plans to leave the NHS within 2 years of graduating—either to practise abroad or to abandon medicine altogether—suggest the results of the largest survey of its kind, published in the open access journal BMJ Open. Pay, work-life […]

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Childhood trauma may heighten subsequent risk of pregnancy complications

Pregnancy-related diabetes, high blood pressure, depression, low birthweight/premature babies more likely Childhood trauma, such as abuse, emotional neglect, and exposure to domestic violence, may heighten a woman’s subsequent risk of pregnancy complications, and of giving birth to a low birthweight or premature baby, finds a pooled data analysis of the available evidence, published in the […]

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Mid-life structural jawbone changes may signal women’s subsequent height loss

Dentists likely to spot these on x-ray, and should tell doctors about them, say researchers  Mid-life structural changes to the jawbone may signal subsequent height loss in women, suggests research published in the open access journal BMJ Open. Dentists, who are likely to spot these on mouth x-rays during routine check-ups, should collaborate with patients’ doctors […]

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Bhopal explosion may have heightened risk of disability and cancer among future generations

And it may have curbed educational attainment and prompted fall in proportion of male births Disaster likely affected people across a substantially more extensive area than previously thought  The Bhopal gas explosion in 1984—one of India’s worst industrial disasters—may have heightened the risk of disability and cancer in later life among future generations, curbed their educational […]

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Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons strongly linked to raised rheumatoid arthritis risk

These environmental toxicants seem to mediate most of smoking’s effects on risk The amount of environmental exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAH for short, is strongly linked to a person’s risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis, suggests research published in the open access journal BMJ Open. These chemicals, formed from the burning of coal, oil, gas, […]

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Doctors more extroverted, but also more neurotic and less open than patients: study

Character trait differences might have clinical implications for doctor–patient relationships Doctors are more extroverted, agreeable, and conscientious, but also more neurotic and less open than their patients, finds an analysis of responses to two nationally representative Australian surveys, published online in the open access journal BMJ Open. These character trait differences might have clinical implications for […]

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Common ear, nose, and throat issues in pre-schoolers may be linked to later autism risk

Early identification and treatment of these conditions may improve their quality of life Young children with common ear, nose, and throat (ENT) issues may be at subsequent risk of autism or high levels of demonstrable autism traits, suggests research published online in the open access journal BMJ Open. Early identification and treatment of ENT conditions may […]

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Menu calorie counts likely linked to lower obesity-related cancer rates and healthcare costs

Thousands of cancers and deaths potentially averted and billions of dollars saved in US Additional food industry product reformulation could substantially boost policy impact Specifying the number of calories for each item on restaurant menus is likely linked to lower rates of cancers associated with obesity and attendant healthcare costs in the US, suggests a […]

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Midlife obesity linked to heightened frailty risk in older age

Frailty often wrongly perceived as purely wasting disorder, say researchers Findings highlight importance of keeping trim throughout adulthood to minimise risk Carrying far too much weight, including a midriff bulge, from mid-life onwards, is linked to a heightened risk of physical frailty in older age, finds research published in the open access journal BMJ Open. Frailty […]

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