Monthly Archives: April 2019

How having children, and their level of education, can affect health in old age

Although it is known that parents generally live longer than their childless contemporaries, little is known about why or what factors modify this effect. In this blog post, the authors of a recent study of multiple health outcomes in over 800,000 individuals, published in BMC Geriatrics, highlight and discuss some of their findings, shedding light on these unknown mechanisms.

Health

Prevalence of post-treatment Lyme disease in the United States — what can we expect?

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While most patients recover form Lyme disease, a proportion do not respond to treatment and develop persistent symptoms such as chronic pain, cognitive dysfunction, and debilitating fatigue, classified as post-treatment Lyme disease PTLD. We currently don’t know how many people are living with PTLD, so new research published in BMC Public Health investigates this by using mathematical modeling predict prevalence in the US.

Health Medicine

Why do women still resort to informal sector abortions in countries where abortion is legal?

Abortion is generally a safe procedure when carried out in the formal healthcare setting in countries where it is legal. However, many women choose to seek abortions outside of the formal healthcare setting, despite the inherent risk. In this blog post, the author of a recent systematic review of qualitative studies about why women make this choice, published in BMC Women’s Health, discusses the findings.

Health

The importance of negative results for family medicine

Healthcare

Healthcare-related trials showing positive results of an intervention, whether a drug, a device, or an educational program, are usually published and often publicized. Negative results, however, are not as often discussed. In this blog post, Section Editor of BMC Family Practice Chris Burton discusses a negative result recently published in the journal, why it may have been ineffective, and why it is so important that it was published anyway.

Medical Evidence

Should I, or should I not? The ‘tricky business’ about healthcare decision making

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When faced with difficult healthcare decisions, many patients feel overwhelmed or unable to make a decision. A recent paper in BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth explored the decision-making process of women faced with the choice of having surgery to reduce ovarian cancer risk. In this blog post, the authors present a hypothetical patient and discuss the difficulties she faces in making this difficult decision.

Health

Detaining vulnerable immigrants negatively affects their mental health

Changing immigration patterns have been the focus of recent intense media coverage. However, research concerning the impact of immigration detention policies on those most vulnerable to these practices is limited in comparison. A recent systematic review published in BMC Psychiatry examines mental health in detained immigrants and brings this issue sharply into focus where it belongs. Here to discuss the study and to signpost future research is co-author Claire Mason.

Health