Most common diagnoses among those requesting help to die, due to unbearable suffering Depression and personality disorders are the most common diagnoses among Belgian psychiatric patients requesting help to die, on the grounds of unbearable suffering, finds research published in BMJ Open today. Drugs, given either by mouth or administered intravenously, are used to perform euthanasia […]
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‘Successful ageing’ linked to harmful drinking among over 50s
The over 50s who are ‘successful agers’—healthy, active, sociable, and well off—are more at risk of harmful drinking than their less successful peers, concludes research published in the online journal BMJ Open. Harmful drinking is a “middle class phenomenon” which may be a hidden health and social problem in otherwise successful older people, warn the […]
Drinking alcohol while pregnant is common in UK, Ireland, and Australasia
Drinking alcohol while pregnant is common, ranging from 20% to 80% among those questioned in the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand, reveals a study of almost 18,000 women published in the online journal BMJ Open. Women across all social strata drank during pregnancy, the findings showed. But expectant mums were significantly more likely to […]
Weekend screen time linked to poorer bone health in teen boys
Weekend screen time is linked to poorer teen bone health—but only in boys, reveals research published in BMJ Open. The apparent lack of impact of leisure screen time on teen girls’ bone health may be explained by their different body fat distribution, suggest the researchers. They base their findings on participants in the Tromsø Fit Futures […]
Dissemination bias, biguanide and clinician self-management: Most read articles in May
This month’s Top 10 Most Read includes a selection of new entries; including Meerpohl et al’s article on evidence-informed recommendations to reduce dissemination bias in clinical research. Mudge et al’s article on clinicians view on their role in self-management approaches and Anholm et al’s paper on the therapy of biguanide in patients with coronary artery disease and newly […]
Many UK patients with gonorrhoea prescribed outdated antibiotics
Many UK patients with gonorrhoea are being prescribed antibiotics that are no longer recommended for treating the infection by their family doctor (GP), reveals research published in BMJ Open. This failure to keep abreast of national clinical guidance is of concern, given the global threat of antibiotic resistance, say the researchers. They base their findings on […]
Oldest old less likely to be investigated or aggressively treated after surgery
Patients aged 80 and above are significantly less likely to be investigated or aggressively treated after surgery than their younger counterparts, reveals a national audit of hospital deaths, published in BMJ Open. This is despite the fact that the oldest old have higher rates of trauma and multiple underlying conditions on admission, say the Australian researchers. […]
Should we stop talking about ‘negative’ results?
BMJ Open recently published the results of a major EU-funded project (OPEN) investigating the problem of dissemination bias. Also know as publication bias, this is the distortion of the evidence base caused by selective or non-reporting of results. The authors concluded: ‘Despite various recent examples of dissemination bias and several initiatives to reduce it, […]
Increasing the value of health research, e-cigarettes and the role of hospital managers in patient safety: Most read articles in April
April’s Top 10 Most Read includes a selection of new entries; including a bibliometric analysis on increasing the value of health research in the WHO African Region by Uthman et al and an article on non-health decision-makers’ use of evidence on the social determinants of health written by McGill et al. Parand et al’s systematic review on the role of […]
UK doctors unlikely to be able to repay student loans
UK doctors are unlikely to be able to repay their student loans over the course of their working lives, amassing debts of more than £80,000 by the time they graduate, in some cases, finds research published in the online journal BMJ Open. What’s more, there are clear gender differences in the amount of cash required […]