Zinc might help to stave off respiratory infection symptoms and cut illness duration

But quality of evidence variable, and no clarity on optimal formulation or dose A zinc supplement might help stave off the symptoms of respiratory tract infections, such as coughing, congestion, and sore throat, and cut illness duration, suggests a pooled analysis of the available evidence, published in the open access journal BMJ Open. But the quality […]

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UK ‘austerity’ since 2010 linked to tens of thousands more deaths than expected

Findings echo other research on stalled life expectancy improvement Extra social care spend more than twice as ‘productive’ as extra healthcare spend Central government austerity measures since 2010 are linked to tens of thousands more deaths than expected, finds research published in the online journal BMJ Open on the joint impact of social care, public health, and […]

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Top 10 Most Read in September: Vaccine acceptance, delirium in critically ill COVID-19 patients and symptom scores to predict COVID-19 positivity.

  September sees just three new entries in our top 10 most read articles, all on coronavirus: Public acceptance of COVID-19 vaccines  Our highest new entry is a large online survey of COVID-19 vaccine acceptance by Lindholt and colleagues from July, the first time the paper’s been in our top 10 since its publication. The […]

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World Alzheimer’s Day – rate of undetected dementia, education of health professionals, and automated detection of dementia.

“Know dementia, know Alzheimer’s” is the theme for this year’s World Alzheimer’s Day with a focus on raising awareness of symptoms and diagnosis of dementia. Globally there are over 50 million people living with dementia, and this number is predicted to rise to 150 million by 2050.1 In both England and Wales the leading cause […]

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Top 10 most read in August: women’s health from Uganda to northern Europe

The top 10 most read BMJ Open articles for August show that the top four spots remain unchanged from July. While COVID-19-related papers remain popular overall, there are two new entries this month that focus on women’s health.  Mobility patterns of young women who exchange sex for money or commodities in Uganda King et al. […]

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Experts call for changes to regulation of e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products

Rules over sale, ban on indoor use, advertising restrictions and label warnings should apply, say experts Current regulation of electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco products should change with different arrangements put in place for the two groups of products, suggests research published in BMJ Open. E-cigarettes, known as electronic nicotine delivery systems and heated tobacco products […]

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Likely extra 267,000 infant deaths in 2020 prompted by COVID-19 economic downturn

Figures correspond to nearly 7% more than expected, show World Bank economist estimates An extra 267,000 infants will likely have died in 2020 in low- and middle-income countries as a result of the economic downturn caused by COVID-19, finds a modelling study, published in the online journal BMJ Open. This toll is 7% higher than expected […]

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