In 2011 BMJ Open appeared on the medical publishing scene becoming, in only five years, the world’s largest general medical journal (2015 – Five years old and growing). Another year has passed since then, and thanks to defining our distinctive identity, and being rigorous, open and transparent, we have continued to grow consistently and steadily, […]
Latest articles
Top 10 most read: Work-life balance of doctors in training, ultra-processed foods and added sugars in the US diet, and quality of life and visual function in patients with age-related macular degeneration
December’s top 10 most read list sees eight new entries. At number one this month is a qualitative study by Rich et al, which investigates the work-life balance of doctors undertaking post graduate medical training in the UK. The authors conducted semistructured focus groups and interviews with medical trainees and trainers and found a lack of work life balance […]
Paternal involvement in child-rearing, health anxiety, and the global epidemiology of alcohol use: Most read articles in November
Paternal involvement in early child-rearing, health anxiety and risk of ischaemic heart disease, and the global epidemiology of alcohol use The Top 10 Most Read list for November contains a number of new entries including papers on the reasons for retraction of articles, and the relationship between earlobe creases and coronary artery disease. At number […]
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 […]
Eyes on Diabetes – World Diabetes Day 2016
World Diabetes Day (WDD) is celebrated by millions of people around the world on November 14th each year. [1] Led by the IDF, WDD is a global campaign that aims to raise awareness of diabetes and promote efforts to tackle the condition as a global health priority. [2] The International Diabetes Federation (IDF) estimate that 415 […]
Top 10 Most Read: The Male-Female Gap in Alcohol Use, requests for genital cosmetic surgery and opposition to standardised tobacco packaging in the UK.
October sees six new entries make it into our top ten most read articles. In at number 2 is a systematic review investigating birth cohort changes in male-to-female ratios in indicators of alcohol use and related harms. The authors concluded that the male–female gap in alcohol use was closing over time, with women now drinking […]
‘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 […]