Moderate alcohol intake of at least five units every week is linked to poorer sperm quality in otherwise healthy young men, suggests research published in the online journal BMJ Open. And the higher the weekly tally of units, the worse the sperm quality seems to be, the findings indicate, prompting the researchers to suggest that […]
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Salty cheese, unprepared graduates and coercive anal sex: most read articles in August
August’s top ten includes the highly accessed, survey based study by Marston et al. on anal sex amongst young people, a study on Ecuadorian medical graduates being prepared enough for a year of compulsory rural service in obstetrics and a popular cross-sectional survey by Hashem et al. of salt content in cheese which concludes that it is […]
Skirt size increase linked to 33% greater postmenopausal breast cancer risk
Going up a skirt size over a period of 10 years between your mid 20s and mid 50s is linked to a 33% greater risk of developing breast cancer after the menopause, finds a large observational study published in BMJ Open. Overall weight gain during adulthood is known to be a risk factor for breast cancer, […]
Gun deaths twice as high among African Americans as white citizens in US
Gun deaths are twice as high among African Americans as they are among white citizens in the US, finds a study of national data, published in the online journal BMJ Open. But the national figures, which have remained relatively steady over the past decade, mask wide variation in firearms deaths by ethnicity and state, the […]
Plain cigarette packs don’t hurt small retailers or boost trade in illicit tobacco
Plain packs for tobacco products don’t hurt small retailers, flood the market with very cheap cigarettes, or boost the trade in illicit tobacco, finds research on the early experience of the policy in Australia, and published in journal BMJ Open. The findings suggest there is no evidence for these particular arguments against the policy, put forward […]
BMJ Open now publishes cohort profiles
BMJ Open currently publishes articles reporting research results or study protocols. We have now expanded our scope to include cohort profiles, articles that describe major, ongoing research cohorts. What’s the difference between a protocol, a cohort profile and a research paper? Detailed information about cohort profiles is in our instructions for authors. In brief, cohort […]
Anal sex between young men and women often seems coercive and painful
Anal sex between young men and women often seems coercive and painful, suggests research published in BMJ Open. Feedback from young people reveals an oppressive culture around anal sex, with some young men apparently neglecting or not caring about young women’s consent or pleasure – both when they have anal sex and when they talk […]
Cheese still laden with salt, despite many products meeting reduction targets
The salt content of cheese sold in UK supermarkets remains high, despite many products meeting the recommended government targets on salt reduction, finds research published in the online journal BMJ Open. And salt content varies widely, even within the same type of cheese, the findings show, prompting the researchers to call for much tougher targets […]
Prediabetes, PoTS and Portuguese physicians: most read articles in June
Several new papers made our top ten this month including Mainous et al.’s study on the prevalence of prediabetes in England, and McDonald et al.’s paper on postural tachycardia syndrome predominantly affecting young women. Other popular papers were the recently published paper from Krüsi et al., which explores the effects of criminalisation and policing of […]
Premature newborn survival 30% higher in high volume neonatal centres
The survival of premature newborns in England is 30% higher in specialist units treating large numbers of neonates, reveals an analysis of national data published in BMJ Open. The advantage is particularly evident for very premature babies born after less than 27 weeks of pregnancy, where the figure rises to 50%, prompting the authors to […]