General Interest
Worth reading. The most devastating critique of medicine since Medical Nemesis by Ivan Illich in 1975
15 Feb, 2019 | 00:43h | UTC
Study: Absence of Smoking, Hypertension, and Overweight Linked to a Prolonged Life Expectancy of 6 Years and 9 Years of Disease-free Life Expectancy
14 Feb, 2019 | 01:58h | UTCCommentary: Absence of hypertension, overweight and smoking results in 9 disease-free years and prolonged life expectancy of 6 years – PACE-CME (free)
Related Commentary on Twitter
?Absence of #hypertension, #overweight & #smoking results in 9 disease-free years and prolonged #lifeexpectancy of 6 years.
?PLoS Med 16(2): e1002741.vía @PACEcme
Commentary:
?https://t.co/S5vnrgYRudOpen access:
?https://t.co/GfNdFxEg0z@SEMERGENap @SEHLELHA140_90 pic.twitter.com/hCI1DsZS1h— Vicente Pallares (@vic_pallares) February 13, 2019
Meta-Analysis: Effects of Dietary Improvement on Symptoms of Depression and Anxiety
11 Feb, 2019 | 23:43h | UTCCommentaries: Improved Diet Can Ease Depression Symptoms, Enhance Mood – PsychCentral (free) AND Many Different Diets Can Improve Mood And Reduce Depression Symptoms, Study Finds – Forbes (free) AND A diet rich in fiber and vegetables can relieve depression – Medical News Today (free)
Observational Study Suggests a Link Between Fruit and Vegetable Consumption and Mental Well-Being
11 Feb, 2019 | 23:41h | UTCCommentary: Hearts and minds: fruit and veg boost well-being – University of Leeds (free) AND Eating more fruit and veg ‘improves mental wellbeing’ – NHS Choices (free)
FDA Report: 660 Cases of Breast Implant-Associated Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma
11 Feb, 2019 | 00:10h | UTCCommentary: FDA Emphasizes Lymphoma Risk in Women with Breast Implants – NEJM Journal Watch (free)
Related: Study: Long-term Outcomes of Silicone Breast Implants (link to abstract and commentary) AND Research: Breast Implants and the Risk of Anaplastic Large-Cell Lymphoma in the Breast (link to abstract and commentary) AND Breast Implant-Associated Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma (link to previous FDA report and commentaries)
Guideline: UK CMO Recommendations on Screen Time and Social Media for Children
7 Feb, 2019 | 23:10h | UTCCommentaries: U.K. Doctors Call for Caution in Children’s Use of Screens and Social Media – The New York Times (10 articles per month are free) AND Experts respond to CMO report on screen-time and social media – Science Media Centre (free) AND Do not let children take electronic devices into bedrooms, say doctors – The Guardian (free) AND Screen time: Children advised not to use electronic devices at dinner – BBC (free)
Related Guidelines: Media devices in pre-school children: the recommendations of the Italian pediatric society – Italian Journal of Pediatrics (free) AND Media and Young Minds – Recommendations from The American Academy of Pediatrics (free)
See also: Children, Adolescents and Screens: What We Know and What We Need To Learn (Pediatrics Supplement with free articles)
Study: Education May Not Protect Against Dementia as Previously Thought
7 Feb, 2019 | 22:44h | UTCEducation and cognitive reserve in old age – Neurology (link to abstract – $ for full-text)
Commentaries: Education may not protect against dementia as previously thought – American Academy of Neurology (free) AND Does education really protect against dementia? – Medical News Today (free) AND Education won’t help much when it comes to dementia, study says – CNN (free)
Cancer Cliches to Avoid: I’m Not ‘Brave’
7 Feb, 2019 | 00:56h | UTCCancer cliches to avoid: I’m not ‘brave’ – BBC (free)
Related: Why cancer is not a war, fight, or battle (free commentaries)
Randomized Trial: Effect of Aerobic Exercise on Cognition in Younger Adults
7 Feb, 2019 | 00:45h | UTCEffect of aerobic exercise on cognition in younger adults: A randomized clinical trial – Neurology (link to abstract – $ for full-text)
Commentary: Exercise may improve thinking skills in people as young as 20 – American Academy of Neurology (free)
Study: Undisclosed Financial Ties Between Guideline Writers and Pharmaceutical Companies
7 Feb, 2019 | 00:41h | UTCCommentaries: Undisclosed financial relationships revealed between doctors and drug companies – The Guardian (free) AND 24% of clinical guideline authors may have undisclosed ties to drug industry – Cardiovascular Business (free) AND Influential doctors aren’t disclosing their drug company ties – Croakey (free)
Related: Study: Financial Conflicts of Interest Among Authors of Clinical Guidelines (link to abstract and commentaries) AND Authors of premier medical textbook didn’t disclose $11 million in industry payments (free commentary) AND Study: Financial Conflicts of Interest Among Authors of Urology Guidelines (link to abstract) AND Perspective: Hidden Conflicts? (free) AND Study: Association of Compensation to Physicians From Industry and Self-declared Conflict of Interest (link to abstract and commentaries) AND Study: Financial Conflicts of Interest Among Oncologist Authors of Reports of Clinical Drug Trials (link to abstract and commentaries) AND “What These Medical Journals Don’t Reveal: Top Doctors’ Ties to Industry” (free commentary) AND Study: Assessment of Pharmaceutical Company and Device Manufacturer Payments to Gastroenterologists and Their Participation in Clinical Practice Guideline Panels (free)
NYT Editorial: Why You Should Be Careful About 23andMe’s Health Test
4 Feb, 2019 | 22:08h | UTCEditorial: Why You Should Be Careful About 23andMe’s Health Test – The New York Times (free)
Measuring the Value of Health
4 Feb, 2019 | 22:36h | UTCMeasuring the value of health – Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (free)
Related Commentary on Twitter
Global health organizations turned a $10 billion investment into $200 billion in benefits. You can’t beat that deal: https://t.co/abKrtagQo7 pic.twitter.com/aUiskZYxsn
— Bill Gates (@BillGates) January 29, 2019
Study: Association of Electronic Cigarette Use With Subsequent Initiation of Tobacco Cigarettes in Youths
3 Feb, 2019 | 12:14h | UTCCommentary: Teens who use e-cigarettes are FOUR TIMES more likely to take up tobacco smoking than teens who don’t, study says – The Daily Mail (free)
Related: Report: Public Health Consequences of E-Cigarettes (free report and commentaries) AND Simulation model: quantifying the health benefits and harms of e-cigarettes (free study and commentary) AND E-cigarettes: A win or loss for public health? – Knowable Magazine (free) AND FDA Takes New Steps to Address Epidemic of Youth E-Cigarette Use (free statement and commentaries)
Related Commentary on Twitter
E-cigs associated with risk for new cigarette use, even in low-risk youth. A fifth of new smoking in US youth may be attributable to prior e-cig use. https://t.co/2FEm0mmfEj #VisualAbstract #vaping pic.twitter.com/gtRwVH6BRp
— JAMA Network Open (@JAMANetworkOpen) February 2, 2019
Opinion: A.I. Could Worsen Health Disparities
1 Feb, 2019 | 02:36h | UTCA.I. Could Worsen Health Disparities – The New York Times (free)
“In a health system riddled with inequity, we risk making dangerous biases automated and invisible.”
Randomized Trial: E-Cigarettes vs. Nicotine-Replacement Therapy
30 Jan, 2019 | 23:35h | UTCA Randomized Trial of E-Cigarettes versus Nicotine-Replacement Therapy – New England Journal of Medicine (link to abstract – $ for full-text)
Editorial: The Dangerous Flavors of E-Cigarettes (free)
Commentaries: E-cigarettes more effective than nicotine replacement therapies, finds major trial – Queen Mary University of London (free) AND UK study shows e-cigarettes help adult smokers quit, but US experts urge caution – CNN (free) AND E-Cigarettes Are Effective at Helping Smokers Quit, a Study Says – The New York times (10 articles per month are free) AND E-cigarettes ‘much better for quitting smoking’ – BBC (free) AND Study Found Vaping Beat Traditional Smoking-Cessation Options – NPR (free)
Related Commentary on Twitter
Trial finds e-cigarettes more effective than nicotine-replacement therapy with respect to the 1-year abstinence rate (18% vs. 10%). Throat or mouth irritation was more common with e-cigarettes, and nausea was more common with nicotine-replacement. https://t.co/cyEnDP630v pic.twitter.com/1je5vN87ru
— NEJM (@NEJM) January 30, 2019
Perspective: Are Probiotics Money Down the Toilet? Or Worse?
30 Jan, 2019 | 23:34h | UTCAre Probiotics Money Down the Toilet? Or Worse? – JAMA (free for a limited period)
Related: Randomized Trials: Probiotics Ineffective Against Gastroenteritis (link to abstract and commentaries) AND Perspective: The Problem with Probiotics (free commentaries) AND Probiotics: Does the Evidence Match the Hype? (link to abstract and commentaries) AND Systematic Review: Harms Reporting in Trials with Probiotics (link to abstract and commentaries)
Meta-Analysis: Effect of Breakfast on Weight and Energy Intake
30 Jan, 2019 | 23:33h | UTCCommentary: Breakfast—the most important meal of the day? – The BMJ Opinion (free)
Research: This Is Your Brain Off Facebook
30 Jan, 2019 | 18:46h | UTCThis Is Your Brain Off Facebook – The New York Times (10 articles per month are free)
Original randomized trial, involving nearly 3000 individuals: The Welfare Effects of Social Media (free PDF)
“Expect the consequences to be fairly immediate: More in-person time with friends and family. Less political knowledge, but also less partisan fever. A small bump in one’s daily moods and life satisfaction. And, for the average Facebook user, an extra hour a day of downtime.”
Meta-Analysis: Prevalence of Cannabis Use Among Medical Students
30 Jan, 2019 | 01:10h | UTC“1 in 3 medical students has used cannabis, whereas 8.8% were current users”
Perspective: Promises, Promises, and Precision Medicine
30 Jan, 2019 | 00:56h | UTCPromises, promises, and precision medicine – JCI: The Journal of Clinical Investigation (free)
Related: Representing a “revolution”: how the popular press has portrayed personalized medicine – Genetics in Medicine (free)
“Hype vs. reality. Vast disconnect between actual achievements of “precision medicine” and how portrayed in popular culture” (via @CaulfieldTim see Tweet)
Related Commentary on Twitter
“Nearly two decades after the first predictions of dramatic success, we find no impact of the human genome project on the population’s life expectancy or any other public health measure.” @DrMJoyner & Paneth write a scathing piece on genomic medicine. https://t.co/MzCcM7vQWu pic.twitter.com/h04jaIstlX
— Dr Muin J. Khoury (@MuinJKhoury) January 29, 2019
The Digital Drug: Internet Addiction Treatment Programs
29 Jan, 2019 | 21:41h | UTCThe digital drug: Internet addiction spawns U.S. treatment programs – Reuters (free)
Related: Gaming disorder – World Health Organization (free) AND Gaming addiction classified as mental health disorder by WHO – Reuters (free) AND WHO classifies ‘gaming disorder’ as mental health condition – CNN (free) AND Do You Have ‘Gaming Disorder,’ A Newly Recognized Mental Health Condition? – Forbes (free) AND Endless Gaming May Be a Bad Habit. That Doesn’t Make It a Mental Illness – The New York Times (10 articles per month are free) AND Gaming addiction as a mental disorder: it’s premature to pathologise players – The Conversation (free) AND Is ‘Internet Addiction’ Real? – NPR Health News (free)
Study: Screen Time and Children’s Performance on Developmental Test
29 Jan, 2019 | 18:16h | UTCAssociation Between Screen Time and Children’s Performance on a Developmental Screening Test – JAMA Pediatrics (free for a limited period)
Commentaries: Expert reaction to study on use of screen time and child development – Science Media Centre (free) AND Too much toddler screen time tied to worse social, motor skills by kindergarten – Reuters (free) AND More screen time for toddlers is tied to poorer development a few years later, study says – CNN (free) AND Screen time ‘may harm toddlers’ – BBC (free) AND Screen time predicts delays in child development, says new research – The Conversation (free)
Related Guidelines: Media devices in pre-school children: the recommendations of the Italian pediatric society – Italian Journal of Pediatrics (free) AND Media and Young Minds – Recommendations from The American Academy of Pediatrics (free)
See also: Children, Adolescents and Screens: What We Know and What We Need To Learn (Pediatrics Supplement with free articles)
The Lancet Commission Report: The Global Syndemic of Obesity, Undernutrition, and Climate Change
28 Jan, 2019 | 23:52h | UTCThe Global Syndemic of Obesity, Undernutrition, and Climate Change: The Lancet Commission report (free registration required)
Commentaries: Take on food industry to beat malnutrition and obesity, says report – The Guardian (free) AND Want to fix obesity and climate change at the same time? Make Big Food companies pay. – VOX (free) AND To fix climate change, fix the obesity and starvation epidemics, reports say – CNN (free)
Related Commentary on Twitter
The #GlobalSyndemic: #Undernutrition & #obesity are not simply the result of too few or too many calories. Both are driven by the same unhealthy, inequitable food systems, underpinned by a political economy focused on economic growth, not health https://t.co/k3gkUnliyw pic.twitter.com/zKwY08YSEF
— The Lancet (@TheLancet) January 27, 2019
Dear Editor (An Authors’ Wish List to Medical Journal Editors)
27 Jan, 2019 | 20:32h | UTCDear Editor (An Authors’ Wish List to Medical Journal Editors) – Microbiology (free)
Viewpoint: The Rise of Pseudomedicine for Dementia and Brain Health
27 Jan, 2019 | 20:36h | UTCThe Rise of Pseudomedicine for Dementia and Brain Health – JAMA (free for a limited period)