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A blog about the latest news and research in clinical medicine.
Helen Jaques
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- February 19, 2010
- 01:00 PM
- 485 views
Obese children are at high risk of death before middle age
by Helen Jaques in In Sickness and In Health
A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine has found that children who were obese were almost twice as likely to die before 55 years of age than those who were not obese. Moreover, children whose weight was in the top 25% out of nearly 5,000 kids were 2.3 times more likely to [...]... Read more »
Franks, P., Hanson, R., Knowler, W., Sievers, M., Bennett, P., & Looker, H. (2010) Childhood Obesity, Other Cardiovascular Risk Factors, and Premature Death. New England Journal of Medicine, 362(6), 485-493. DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa0904130
- February 11, 2010
- 09:00 AM
- 461 views
Half of top US academic medical centers have no policy on ghostwriting
by Helen Jaques in In Sickness and In Health
Half of the top 50 academic medical centres in the United States have no policies on their staff ghostwriting research on the behalf of pharmaceutical companies – including UCLA and Mayo Medical School.
Medical ghostwriting is “the practice of pharmaceutical companies secretly authoring journal articles published under the byline of academic researchers.” By getting academics at [...]
... Read more »
Lacasse, J., & Leo, J. (2010) Ghostwriting at Elite Academic Medical Centers in the United States. PLoS Medicine, 7(2). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1000230
- February 8, 2010
- 04:02 PM
- 354 views
A diagnosis of prostate cancer ups the risk of fatal heart attack or suicide
by Helen Jaques in In Sickness and In Health
Receiving a diagnosis of prostate cancer is a very stressful and upsetting event, so much so that some men go on to have a fatal heart attack or kill themselves.
Two pieces of research by the same study group, one conducted in 340,000 men in the US and the other in 170,000 men from Sweden, have [...]
... Read more »
Fall, K., Fang, F., Mucci, L., Ye, W., Andrén, O., Johansson, J., Andersson, S., Sparén, P., Klein, G., Stampfer, M.... (2009) Immediate Risk for Cardiovascular Events and Suicide Following a Prostate Cancer Diagnosis: Prospective Cohort Study. PLoS Medicine, 6(12). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1000197
Fang, F., Keating, N., Mucci, L., Adami, H., Stampfer, M., Valdimarsdottir, U., & Fall, K. (2010) Immediate Risk of Suicide and Cardiovascular Death After a Prostate Cancer Diagnosis: Cohort Study in the United States. JNCI Journal of the National Cancer Institute. DOI: 10.1093/jnci/djp537
- February 5, 2010
- 05:00 AM
- 396 views
Reducing dietary salt by half a teaspoon could save 92,000 lives a year
by Helen Jaques in In Sickness and In Health
A Californian population based study has found that if everyone in the US reduced their daily salt intake by 3 grams – half a teaspoon – the annual number of deaths could be slashed by up to 92,000. In addition, the number of new people who get cardiovascular disease each year could drop by [...]... Read more »
Bibbins-Domingo, K., Chertow, G., Coxson, P., Moran, A., Lightwood, J., Pletcher, M., & Goldman, L. (2010) Projected Effect of Dietary Salt Reductions on Future Cardiovascular Disease. New England Journal of Medicine. DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa0907355
- February 3, 2010
- 06:21 PM
- 399 views
Watching too much TV increases risk of death within the next six years
by Helen Jaques in In Sickness and In Health
A study of nearly 9,000 Australian adults has reported that people who watched 4 hours of TV a day or more were 46% more likely to die within the next six and a half years than those who watched less than 2 hours a day. Each one hour increase in daily television viewing increased the [...]... Read more »
Dunstan, D., Barr, E., Healy, G., Salmon, J., Shaw, J., Balkau, B., Magliano, D., Cameron, A., Zimmet, P., & Owen, N. (2010) Television Viewing Time and Mortality: The Australian Diabetes, Obesity and Lifestyle Study (AusDiab). Circulation, 121(3), 384-391. DOI: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.109.894824
- November 12, 2009
- 05:00 AM
- 546 views
Drug company funded events for health professionals: the state of play in Australia
by Helen Jaques in In Sickness and In Health
The links between the pharmaceutical industry and doctors are many and tangled. Drug companies are keen to schmooze doctors and, directly or not, persuade clinicians to prescribe their drug instead of a similar one by a competitor. One way that drug companies try to influence doctors is by sponsoring events, such as conferences or [...]... Read more »
Robertson, J., Moynihan, R., Walkom, E., Bero, L., & Henry, D. (2009) Mandatory Disclosure of Pharmaceutical Industry-Funded Events for Health Professionals. PLoS Medicine, 6(11). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1000128
- November 10, 2009
- 05:00 PM
- 495 views
Arch Intern Med roundup: diets, delays and disclosure
by Helen Jaques in In Sickness and In Health
The journal Archives of Internal Medicine has a several cracking research papers this week.
Low carb dieters are grumpier than those on low fat diets
First up is Brinkworth et al.’s research on the long-term psychological effects of low carbohydrate diets compared with low fat diets.
In this study, 106 overweight and obese individuals were randomly assigned to [...]... Read more »
Brinkworth GD, Buckley JD, Noakes M, Clifton PM, . (2009) Long-term Effects of a Very Low-Carbohydrate Diet and a Low-Fat Diet on Mood and Cognitive Function. Arch Intern Med, 169(20), 1873-1880. info:other/http://archinte.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/short/169/20/1873?home
Horwitz LI . (2009) Percentage of US Emergency Department Patients Seen Within the Recommended Triage Time: 1997 to 2006. Arch Intern Med, 169(20), 1857-1865. info:other/http://archinte.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/short/169/20/1857?home
Chen LM, Farwell WR, . (2009) Primary Care Visit Duration and Quality: Does Good Care Take Longer? . Arch Intern Med, 169(20), 1866-1872. info:other/http://archinte.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/short/169/20/1866?home
López L, Weissman JS, Schneider EC, Weingart SN, Cohen AP, . (2009) Disclosure of Hospital Adverse Events and Its Association With Patients' Ratings of the Quality of Care. Arch Intern Med, 169(20), 1888-1894. info:other/http://archinte.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/169/20/1888
- November 9, 2009
- 05:00 AM
- 530 views
Nearly a third of clinical trials don’t adequately report adverse events
by Helen Jaques in In Sickness and In Health
A study published in Archives of Internal Medicine has found that almost a third of clinical trials reported in top medical journals don’t adequately report the side effects of the intervention being tested.
Pitrou et al. assessed the reporting of safety data in 133 randomised controlled trials published between January 2006 and January 2007 in five [...]... Read more »
Pitrou I, Boutron I, Ahmad N, & Ravaud P. (2009) Reporting of safety results in published reports of randomized controlled trials. Archives of internal medicine, 169(19), 1756-61. PMID: 19858432
- October 7, 2009
- 06:12 PM
- 621 views
Sacre bleu! French diet doesn’t meet nutrient recommendations
by Helen Jaques in In Sickness and In Health
French food is famous around the world. From the haute cuisine espoused by cordon bleu and the Michelin Guide to weird and wonderful dishes like frogs legs, the French are passionate about cooking and what they eat.
However, a study published recently in the Journal of Nutrition has found that the diet consumed by the majority [...]... Read more »
Maillot, M., Vieux, F., Ferguson, E., Volatier, J., Amiot, M., & Darmon, N. (2009) To Meet Nutrient Recommendations, Most French Adults Need to Expand Their Habitual Food Repertoire. Journal of Nutrition, 139(9), 1721-1727. DOI: 10.3945/jn.109.107318
- August 13, 2009
- 12:35 PM
- 528 views
Aspirin in colorectal cancer – a new trick for an old dog
by Helen Jaques in In Sickness and In Health
A new study published in JAMA this week has shown that in patients with colorectal cancer, taking an aspirin a day after diagnosis reduces the risk dying from the cancer or from any cause by at least 20%. Taking aspirin before diagnosis, however, did not have any effect of prognosis.
It has been known for a [...]... Read more »
Chan AT, Ogino, MD S, Fuchs CS. (2009) Aspirin Use and Survival After Diagnosis of Colorectal Cancer. JAMA, 302(6), 649-658. info:other/Aspirin Use and Survival After Diagnosis of Colorectal Cancer
- July 24, 2009
- 08:00 AM
- 836 views
Does IQ affect cardiovascular disease risk?
by Helen Jaques in In Sickness and In Health
Err, well, maybe. IQ does seem to account for some of the well-documented relationship between socioeconomic status and cardiovascular risk, according to new research in European Heart Journal. Simply put, being more intelligent could be one reason why people from a high socioeconomic background are less likely to die from cardiovascular disease than those [...]... Read more »
Batty, G., Shipley, M., Dundas, R., Macintyre, S., Der, G., Mortensen, L., & Deary, I. (2009) Does IQ explain socio-economic differentials in total and cardiovascular disease mortality? Comparison with the explanatory power of traditional cardiovascular disease risk factors in the Vietnam Experience Study. European Heart Journal, 30(15), 1903-1909. DOI: 10.1093/eurheartj/ehp254
- July 22, 2009
- 08:00 AM
- 707 views
Multiple choice medical school exams favour male students
by Helen Jaques in In Sickness and In Health
Urgh, exams. The epic ‘true-false-no idea’ multiple choicers of my undergraduate days are not a distant enough memory for me. The whole ‘get it right, get 1 point’, ‘get it wrong, lose 1 point’ approach always seemed horrendously unfair, regardless of the statistical basis for the strategy (i.e. examiners don’t want to reward people that [...]... Read more »
Kelly, S., & Dennick, R. (2009) Evidence of gender bias in True-False-Abstain medical examinations. BMC Medical Education, 9(1), 32. DOI: 10.1186/1472-6920-9-32
- July 20, 2009
- 08:00 AM
- 933 views
Cycling or walking to work reduces risk of obesity and cardiovascular disease… but only in men
by Helen Jaques in In Sickness and In Health
OK, so it seems pretty obvious that cycling or walking to work is better for you than taking the car. New research published in Archives of Internal Medicine has clarified the beneficial effects in terms of fitness and cardiovascular health of walking or cycling to work – but they’re largely only seen in men.
This study [...]... Read more »
Penny Gordon-Larsen, Janne Boone-Heinonen, Steve Sidney, Barbara Sternfeld, David R Jacobs Jr, Cora E Lewis. (2009) Active Commuting and Cardiovascular Disease Risk: The CARDIA Study . Arch Intern Med, 169(13), 1216-1223. DOI: 19597071
- July 17, 2009
- 09:23 AM
- 615 views
Junior doctors pressed into taking HIV tests
by Helen Jaques in In Sickness and In Health
Junior doctors are undergoing HIV tests as part of pre-employment occupational health checks without being made aware that such testing is not mandatory, according to research published in the Journal of Medical Ethics. Many junior doctors interviewed by Lee Salkeld and colleagues held the misperception that HIV testing was compulsory and felt unable to decline the test. In [...]... Read more »
Salkeld, L., McGeehan, S., Chaudhuri, E., & Kerslake, I. (2009) HIV testing of junior doctors: exploring their experiences, perspectives and accounts. Journal of Medical Ethics, 35(7), 402-406. DOI: 10.1136/jme.2008.027052
- May 1, 2009
- 08:00 AM
- 596 views
What makes relatives agree to organ donation?
by Helen Jaques in In Sickness and In Health
The BMJ has just published an interesting paper on the factors that determine whether family agree to donate the organs of a brain dead relative.
According to the meta-analysis by researchers at the University of Oxford, careful timing and having a transplant coordinator make the request are key factors in whether relatives consent to organ donation.
This [...]... Read more »
Simpkin, A., Robertson, L., Barber, V., & Young, J. (2009) Modifiable factors influencing relatives' decision to offer organ donation: systematic review. BMJ, 338(apr21 2). DOI: 10.1136/bmj.b991
- April 27, 2009
- 08:00 AM
- 884 views
Heavy alcohol consumption can lead to essential tremor
by Helen Jaques in In Sickness and In Health
Drinking three or four alcoholic drinks a day can double the risk of developing essential tremor - or ‘the shakes’ - in old age, suggest new findings from a Spanish research group. In a report published earlier this year, the same researchers found that individuals with essential tremor were four times more likely to develop [...]... Read more »
Louis, E., Benito-Leon, J., & Bermejo-Pareja, F. (2009) Population-based study of baseline ethanol consumption and risk of incident essential tremor. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery , 80(5), 494-497. DOI: 10.1136/jnnp.2008.162701
- April 6, 2009
- 07:11 AM
- 758 views
When is a side effect not a side effect? With antidepressants and functional gastrointestinal disorders
by Helen Jaques in In Sickness and In Health
New research has shown that the side effects of tricyclic antidepressants reported by patients with functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGDs) such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) often aren’t actually real side effects of the drugs. Instead, most of the symptoms experienced by the women in the study were present before they started taking the medication, [...]... Read more »
Thiwan, S., Drossman, D., Morris, C., Dalton, C., Toner, B., Diamant, N., Hu, J., Whitehead, W., Leserman, J., & Bangdiwala, S. (2009) Not All Side Effects Associated With Tricyclic Antidepressant Therapy Are True Side Effects. Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, 7(4), 446-451. DOI: 10.1016/j.cgh.2008.11.014
- April 1, 2009
- 05:20 PM
- 805 views
Squeamish? Don’t worry, medical students are too
by Helen Jaques in In Sickness and In Health
BMC Medical Education has just published an interesting study that examined the incidence of fainting among medical students observing surgery. Apparently, more than 1 in 10 medical students almost or completely pass out in the operating theatre.
The authors of this study surveyed 630 clinical medical students in their fourth or fifth (final) year of study [...]... Read more »
Jamjoom, A., Nikkar-Esfahani, A., & Fitzgerald, J. (2009) Operating theatre related syncope in medical students: a cross sectional study. BMC Medical Education, 9(1), 14. DOI: 10.1186/1472-6920-9-14
- March 24, 2009
- 05:00 AM
- 928 views
Red meat consumption increases the risk of early death
by Helen Jaques in In Sickness and In Health
Results from a huge study published in Archives of Internal Medicine have shown that consumption of a high level of red and processed meat is associated with a raised risk of early death.
Men who ate the most red meat - roughly equivalent to a quarter pounder burger a day - were 31% more likely to [...]... Read more »
Rashmi Sinha, Amanda J Cross, Barry I Graubard, Michael F Leitzmann, Arthur Schatzkin. (2009) Meat Intake and Mortality: A Prospective Study of Over Half a Million People . Arch Intern Med, 169(6), 562-571. DOI: 169(6):562-571
- March 18, 2009
- 03:00 PM
- 747 views
Religious people are just as reluctant to die as the rest of us
by Helen Jaques in In Sickness and In Health
You’d think people with strong religious beliefs - which generally include belief in an afterlife - would be less perturbed about slipping of this mortal coil than the rest of us.
A new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, however, has found that cancer patients who rely on their religion for comfort during their final days are in fact almost three times more likely to use life-prolonging treatments than are less religious patients.... Read more »
Andrea C. Phelps, MD; Paul K. Maciejewski, PhD; Matthew Nilsson, BS; Tracy A. Balboni, MD; Alexi A. Wright, MD; M. Elizabeth Paulk, MD; Elizabeth Trice, MD, PhD; Deborah Schrag, MD, MPH; John R. Peteet, MD; Susan D. Block, MD; Holly G. Prigerson. (2009) Religious Coping and Use of Intensive Life-Prolonging Care Near Death in Patients With Advanced Cancer. JAMA, 301(11), 1140-1147. DOI: 301(11):1140-1147
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