Research Paper Title: Effectiveness of PhysioDirect Telephone Assessment and Advice Services for Patients with Musculoskeletal Problems: Pragmatic Randomised Controlled Trial. Study Question: Are PhysioDirect services, based on initial telephone assessment and advice from a physiotherapist, as effective as usual care involving patients waiting for a face-to-face appointment? Summary Answer: Patients allocated to PhysioDirect received treatment… Read More
Research: Vitamin Supplements & Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease
Research Paper Title: Efficacy of Vitamin and Antioxidant Supplements in Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomised Controlled Trials. Study Question: Are vitamin and antioxidant supplements beneficial for the prevention of cardiovascular diseases? Summary Answer: The meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials found no evidence to support the use of vitamin and antioxidant… Read More
Research: Women Who Smoke Like Men, Die Like Men
Analyses from two historical and five contemporary US cohorts suggest that the risks for both sexes are now: About 25 times more likely than never smokers to die of lung cancer; Between 22 and 25 times more likely to die of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD); and Nearly three times more likely to die of… Read More
Research: Preterm Birth & Heart Development
Preterm birth induces a switch from fetal to postnatal circulation before the left ventricle is fully developed. In animals, this results in an odd shaped left ventricle. To determine whether the same thing happens in humans, researchers used cardiovascular magnetic resonance to investigate 234 young adults, of whom about half had been born prematurely. Preterm… Read More
Research: Sugar, Coffee & Type 2 Diabetes
There are some amongst you who believe that adding sugar to tea and coffee does not influence the risk of type 2 diabetes. However, a large US study conducted over 24 years proves this is wrong. Irrespective of the coffeine content in hot drinks, it is the sugar intake that counts. But coffee intake – whether caffeinated… Read More
Research: Smoking & Weight during Pregnancy
In a study investigating links between parental smoking during pregnancy and high blood pressure in adult daughters, maternal and paternal smoking during pregnancy (> 15 cigarettes per day) was associated with increased rates of hypertension. Adjusting for birth weight had little effect, but adjusting for body shape and weight up to age 18 years or… Read More
From the Frontline: Journalistic Licence
“You need to know something, of something, to say something.” Des Spence (General Practitioner) BMJ 2013;346:f418
