3+ hours daily social media use linked to poor sleep patterns in UK teens

Findings provide “meaningful evidence” for adolescent health and wellbeing, say researchers Spending three or more hours a day on social media is associated with poor sleep patterns, such as falling asleep after 11 pm on school nights and waking during the night, among UK teens, suggests research published in the online journal BMJ Open. The findings […]

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Top ten most read in September: Old age decline in grip strength, LGBTQ perspectives in child welfare, and opioid use in back pain

The list of the top ten most read articles in September sees many previous entries keeping their places, including a cohort study into the association between developmental factors and old age decline in grip strength. However, September has also welcomed two new entries into the top ten. New in at number six is a study […]

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Making rare illness visible: engaging people through novel methods of participatory research – Guest Blog

BMJ Open encourages greater involvement of patients in the research process from a study’s conception to the dissemination of its results. In this guest post, Kathy McKay, Veronica Ranieri, and Eilis Kennedy from the Tavistock & Portman NHS Foundation Trust discuss the valuable role that novel participatory methods can play in qualitative health research. Researchers […]

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Antidepressants linked to heightened pregnancy related diabetes risk

Venlafaxine and amitriptyline and longer course of treatment associated with greatest risks Taking antidepressants while expecting a baby is linked to a heightened risk of developing diabetes that is specifically related to pregnancy, known as gestational diabetes, finds research published in the online journal BMJ Open. The risk was greatest among mums to be who were […]

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Industry has unduly influenced TV advertising regs on restricting unhealthy kids’ foods

With commercial interests to protect, UK broadcast regulator Ofcom shouldn’t lead on public health issues, argue doctors Industry has unduly influenced the regulations for TV advertising of unhealthy foods to children, likely weakening legislation in this area, argue doctors in an analysis, published in the online journal BMJ Open. The UK broadcast regulator, Ofcom, which has […]

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Top ten most read in August: sex discrimination in access to healthcare in India, sponsorship of professional paediatrics associations by companies that make breast-milk substitutes, and the metabolomic profile of children and adults from the Growing Up in Australia study

The list of the top ten most read articles in BMJ Open in August sees many previous entries retaining their positions, including a cross-sectional study done in Japan investigating the effects of short-term smoking in young patients with untreated intermittent adult-onset asthma, and a systematic review addressing the effects of screentime on the health and […]

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Top 10 Most Read in July: Antidepressants for adult depression, productivity loss due to menstruation-related symptoms and sex differences in the effect of diabetes on major cardiovascular outcomes and all-cause mortality

July saw three new papers enter BMJ Open’s top 10 most read articles. This includes first position, a study by researchers from the Nordic Cochrane Centre in Denmark that reanalyses data from a systematic review and network meta-analysis on antidepressants for depression. Taking into account several biases, their reanalysis suggests that the evidence does not […]

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“Extensive gender discrimination in healthcare access” for women in India, suggests study

Younger and older women and those living furthest away from major hospital most likely to miss out on healthcare Women in India face “extensive gender discrimination” in access to healthcare, suggests a study of outpatient appointments at one major tertiary care hospital in Delhi, and published in the online journal BMJ Open. Younger (30 and below) […]

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UK tick-borne Lyme disease cases may be 3 times higher than previous estimates

Based on these figures, new cases might top 8000 in 2019, estimate researchers New cases of tick-borne Lyme disease in the UK may be three times higher than previous estimates suggest, and might top 8000 in 2019, based on these figures, concludes research published in the online journal BMJ Open. Lyme disease is a bacterial (Borrelia) […]

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Nations with strong women’s rights likely to have better population health and faster growth

Trend evident even in resource-poor countries, say researchers Nations with strong women’s rights are more likely to have better health and faster growth than those who don’t promote and protect these values, finds research published in the online journal BMJ Open. This trend is evident in even in resource-poor countries, say the researchers. While many parts […]

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