The 15% fall in dietary salt intake over the past decade in England is likely to have had a key role in the 40% drop in deaths from heart disease and stroke over the same period, concludes research published in BMJ Open. But average intake across the nation is still far too high, warn the […]
Latest articles
The perception that eating disorders are a women’s problem delays men getting help
The widespread perception that only women have eating disorders is preventing men with these problems from getting the help and support they need, indicates a small study published in the online journal BMJ Open. Estimates suggest that around 1 in 250 women and 1 in 2000 men in the UK have anorexia nervosa, one of […]
Painkillers linked to heightened irregular heartbeat risk in older adults
Current and recent use of painkillers/anti-inflammatories may be linked to a heightened risk of an irregular heartbeat (atrial fibrillation) among older adults, finds a large population study published in BMJ Open. Atrial fibrillation has itself been linked to stroke, heart failure, and reduced life expectancy, while previously published research has linked the use of non-steroidal […]
Deadlines, dementia, and radiation: Most read articles in March
March’s most read article was Gómez-Perretta et al.’s study on symptoms related to GSM radiation from mobile phone base stations. Newly-published papers in the top ten most read include Aziz Dhedhi et al.’s narrative analysis of GP’s accounts on the meaning of ‘timely’ diagnosis of dementia and also Herbert et al.’s paper on Australian researchers and […]
Social media, autism and diet patterns: Most read articles in February
The most-read article in February was Brurberg et al.’s systematic review of case definitions for chronic fatigue syndrome. Hsiao et al.’s paper on road traffic injury mortality has also been popular. Other newly-published papers in the top ten most read include Jenkins et al.’s randomised controlled trial on the effect of a vegan low-carbohydrate diet on cardiovascular risk factors and body weight […]
Girls born small or underweight twice as likely to be infertile in adulthood
Girls born unexpectedly small or underweight seem to be twice as likely to have fertility problems in adulthood as those of normal size at birth, suggests research published in BMJ Open. Medical advances mean that more underweight and very small babies will survive into adulthood, which might therefore increase the prevalence of fertility problems, say […]
BMJ Open’s 2013 year in review
2013 was another successful year for BMJ Open. Credit and thanks as always goes to our editorial board and especially our peer reviewers for helping make this happen. BMJ Open’s status as a global journal was confirmed as we received over 2000 submissions from 89 countries and published papers from 60. We published 962 […]
Tobacco industry claims “plain” packs won’t work based on weak evidence
Most studies lack policy relevance; and relevant research lacks key indicators of quality, including peer review A critical evaluation of the volume, relevance and quality of evidence submitted by the tobacco industry to oppose standardised packaging of tobacco products doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2013-003757 Tobacco companies lack strong, relevant evidence to support their claims that standardised (plain) packaging of […]
Global salt intake, smoking cessation through Facebook and the cost of childbirth: Most read articles in January
The most-read article in January was Snow et al.’s patient led study ‘What happens when patients know more than their doctors?’ on the impact of patient education on the lives of people with diabetes. Hsia et al.’s newly-published cross-sectional study on the variation in charges and prices paid for vaginal and caesarean births has also been popular. Other […]
Thank you to our reviewers – 2013
Peer review is a fundamental part of publishing. Perhaps nowhere more so than in the open access field, which is often more scrutinised than other traditional publishing routes. Recognising this, the BMJ Open team would like to thank all 2725 peer reviewers who refereed for the journal in 2013 – your advice and considered remarks […]