Association between breastfeeding duration and educational achievement in England: results from the Millennium Cohort Study

Objective: To evaluate the association between breastfeeding duration and educational outcomes at the end of secondary education among children from the Millennium Cohort Study. Design: Cohort study comparing school results at age 16 according to breastfeeding duration. Setting: England. Participants: Children born in 2000–2002 (nationally representative sample). Exposure: Self-reported breastfeeding duration (categorised). Main outcome measures: Standardised school assessments taken at the end of secondary education (General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSEs), marked 9–1) in English and Mathematics, categorised as: ‘fail, marks <4’, ‘low pass, marks 4–6’ and ‘high pass, marks ≥7 (equivalent to A–A*)’. Additionally, overall achievement was measured using the ‘attainment 8’ score (adding the marks of eight GCSEs, English and Mathematics double weighted; 0–90). Results: Approximately 5000 children were included. Longer breastfeeding was associated with better educational outcomes. For example, after full adjustment for socioeconomic markers and maternal cognitive ability, in comparison with children who were never breastfed, those who were breastfed for longer were more likely to have a high pass in their English and Mathematics GCSEs, and less likely to fail the English GCSE (but not the Mathematics GCSE). Additionally, compared with those never breastfed, those breastfed for at least 4 months had, on average, a 2–3 point higher attainment 8 score (coefficients: 2.10, 95% CI 0.06 to 4.14 at 4–6 months; 2.56, 95% CI 0.65 to 4.47 at 6–12 months and 3.09, 95% CI 0.84 to 5.35 at ≥12 months). Conclusions: A longer breastfeeding duration was associated with modest improvements in educational outcomes at age 16, after controlling for important confounders

Forest Plots: Linear or Logarithmic Scale?

El texto completo de este trabajo no está disponible en el Repositorio Académico UPC por restricciones de la casa editorial donde ha sido publicado.Cartas al EditorRevisión por pare

Association between a vegetarian diet and emotional symptoms: a cross-sectional study among adolescents in four developing countries

El texto completo de este trabajo no está disponible en el Repositorio Académico UPC por restricciones de la casa editorial donde ha sido publicado.Studies assessing the association between vegetarianism and mental health have found divergent results. Evidence from adolescents in developing countries is scarce. To evaluate the association between a vegetarian diet and emotional symptoms in 15-year-old adolescents from Ethiopia, India, Peru and Vietnam. A cross-sectional, secondary analysis of the Young Lives cohort study was used. The exposure variable was the self-report of being a vegetarian (yes or no). The outcome was the level of emotional symptoms, numerically evaluated using the score obtained in the subscale "Emotional Symptoms" of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). We calculated crude and adjusted coefficients (β) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs), using generalized linear models of the Gaussian family, considering each sentinel site as a cluster. The analysis was stratified by country. Additionally, we made a global analysis including the four countries. A total of 3484 adolescents were analyzed. The overall prevalence of vegetarianism was 4.4%, but it varied between countries (from 0.4% in Vietnam to 11.5% in India). The average emotional symptoms score was 3.5 [standard deviation (SD) 2.3] points. The scores were not statistically different between vegetarians and non-vegetarians (p > 0.05). In the adjusted analysis, in Vietnam, vegetarians had lower emotional symptoms scores on average than non-vegetarians [β: -1.79; 95% CI: -3.05 to -0.55]. No differences were found neither in the other countries nor in the overall sample. There was no association between a vegetarian diet and emotional symptoms in the analyzed adolescents of four developing countries.Revisión por pare

Are medical students able to perform multicenter studies?

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Apreciación de estudiantes de Medicina latinoamericanos sobre la capacitación universitaria en investigación científica

Identificar la apreciación de estudiantes de medicina latinoamericanos sobre el nivel de capacitación en investigación recibido en la universidad y su nivel actual en esta área. Materiales y Métodos: Se realizó un estudio de corte transversal en 208 estudiantes de medicina latinoamericanos asistentes al Congreso Científico Internacional de estudiantes de Medicina realizado en el 2008 en Chile. Se evaluó su percepción acerca del nivel de entrenamiento en habilidades relacionadas a investigación y publicación científica recibido en la universidad y se comparó con el nivel que consideraban tener. Además, se preguntó por la percepción de la importancia y limitaciones de la publicación en el pregrado.Learning research skills should be a goal during undergraduate training of physicians. Aim: To identify Latin American medical students’ appraisal on research skills university training. Material and Methods:A self-administered survey about experience in research, self-assessment of research skills, quality of training in the area received at the university and that importance of publishing as undergraduate students, was answered by 208 medical students aged 23 ± 3 years (54% male), attending a medical students congress. Results: Seventy percent of respondents pertained to medical students’ scientific societies and 34% had published in a scientific journal. Fifty two percent considered as good or very good the training level received at their universities on information retrieval and 45% considered good the training in research methodology. Thirty two percent considered as poor or none the training received in scientific writing and 37% in the publishing process. Eighty nine percent considered student publishing as important and 61% perceived limitations in this matter. Conclusions: The university training level received by Latin American medical students on research and publication process was evaluated as deficient by these students

Overall assessment of responsiveness to change is just the very first step: a technical commentary on Abanto et al.'s study

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Latin American medical students’ appraisal on university scientific research training

Background: Learning research skills should be a goal during undergraduate training of physicians. Aim: To identify Latin American medical students’ appraisal on research skills university training. Material and Methods: A self-administered survey about experience in research, self-assessment of research skills, quality of training in the area received at the university and that importance of publishing as undergraduate students, was answered by 208 medical students aged 23 ± 3 years (54% male), attending a medical students congress. Results: Seventy percent of respondents pertained to medical students’ scientific societies and 34% had published in a scientific journal. Fifty two percent considered as good or very good the training level received at their universities on information retrieval and 45% considered good the training in research methodology. Thirty two percent considered as poor or none the training received in scientific writing and 37% in the publishing process. Eighty nine percent considered student publishing as important and 61% perceived limitations in this matter. Conclusions: The university training level received by Latin American medical students on research and publication process was evaluated as deficient by these studentsRevisión por pare

Is it the creatine or the anabolic androgenic steroids? Need for assessing the steroids role in testicular cancer

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Research courses’ characteristics in Peruvian medical schools

Aim: To evaluate the research courses’ characteristics and the scientific output of its teachers within Peruvian medical schools. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was performed, using data from the medical schools existing in Peru in 2011. The research courses’ syllabi and its teachers were evaluated. The number of courses, its teachers and the scientific output of them were assessed. Results: Schools had a median of 5.5 [range 2 to 18] credits of research courses, and 1.75% [0.6 to 6.3] was the median of percentages of total credits. In 18/32 (56%) schools existed at least one course requiring the student to present a final inform, and only one school entailed the students to publish the courses’ products in scientific journals. Furthermore, only five (16%) schools employed at least one instructor that had ever published at least one original article as the corresponding author in a Scopus-indexed journal. Conclusion: Peruvian medical schools’ research courses do not include the publication process as a targeted skill and its teachers have a poor scientific [email protected]: Describir las características de los cursos de investigación y la producción científica de sus docentes en las escuelas de medicina del Perú. Métodos: Se realizó un estudio descriptivo, con los datos de las 32 escuelas de medicina del Perú existentes al 2011, las currículas de los cursos de investigación de estas escuelas, y los docentes de dichos cursos. Se evaluó el número de cursos, docentes y sus publicaciones. Resultados: La mediana de créditos de investigación fue 5,5 [rango 2 a 18] por escuela, y la mediana del porcentaje del total de créditos fue de 1,75% [rango 0,6 a 6,3]. En 18/32 (56%) escuelas existió algún curso en el que se solicitó al estudiante la presentación de un informe final, pero solo una escuela tuvo algún curso que incluyó prácticas de envío a publicación. Además, solo 5 (15,6%) escuelas contaron con algún docente que haya publicado al menos un artículo original como autor corresponsal en Scopus alguna vez en su vida. Conclusión: Los cursos de investigación de las escuelas de medicina del Perú no enseñan el proceso de publicación en revistas indizadas y los docentes de estos cursos tienen una baja producción científica.Revisión por pare

Gender differences in the intention of recent Peruvian medical graduates to emigrate

La emigración médica en el Perú supone un importante problema en la búsqueda de la consolidación de un sistema de salud sostenible. Objetivos: Estimar la prevalencia de intención de emigración y sus factores asociados según género en médicos peruanos recién egresados. Diseño y lugar de estudio: Estudio analítico de corte transversal llevado a cabo en Lima, Perú, durante el año 2010. Participantes: Se incluyó a 289 médicos egresados de universidades de peruanas. Intervenciones: Se aplicó una encuesta anónima y autoadministrada que evaluaba la intención de emigración para laborar y sus factores asociados. Los datos fueron analizados con el paquete estadístico STATA 11.2; se utilizó un modelo lineal generalizado log-binomial como método de regresión de múltiples variables. Principales medidas de resultados: Intención de emigración autorreportada. Resultados: La prevalencia de intención de emigración fue de 42,1%; esta fue mayor en el género masculino (50,0% versus 36,4%; p&lt;0,01). Un manejo intermedio/avanzado del idioma inglés (RP: 1,77; IC95%: 1,04 a 2,98) y expectativas de ingreso económico mayor o igual a 3 600 dólares americanos mensuales en los siguientes cinco años (RP: 1,55; IC95%: 1,09 a 2,21) se encontraron asociados con la intención de emigrar en varones. En mujeres, estuvieron asociados el haber culminado la carrera sin retraso (RP: 1,66; IC95%: 1,02 a 2,71) y proyectarse a ganar 3 600 dólares o más (RP: 1,71; IC95%: 1,14 a 2,57). Conclusiones: Existe una alta prevalencia de intención en emigración médica; el factor económico se asocia independientemente; los idiomas y la regularidad académica difieren según género.Medical emigration is a really important problem for Peru in order to consolidate a sustainable health system. Objectives: To determine the prevalence of emigration intention and associated factors according to gender in recently Peruvian graduated physicians. Design and setting: Cross-sectional, analytic study developed in Lima, Peru in 2010. Participants: Two hundred eightynine recently graduated physicians from Peruvian universities were included. Interventions: An anonymous and auto-administered questionnaire was handed to the study subjects to measure their intention to work abroad. Data was analyzed using the statistical package STATA 11.2, and a log-binomial generalized lineal model was used as regression model for multiple variables. Main outcome measures: Self-reported emigration intention. Results: Prevalence of intended emigration was 42.1%, higher in males (50.0% versus 36.4%; p&lt;0.01). For males, an intermediate/advanced level of English proficiency (PR=1.77; 95%CI: 1.04-2.98) and a monthly income expectation greater than or equal to 3600 U.S. dollars in five years (PR=1.55; 95%CI: 1.09-2.21) were associated with the intention of emigrating. In women there was association with fulfilling the career without delay (PR:1.66; 95%CI: 1.02-2.71) and expectation to win 3600 USD or more in five years (PR:1.71; 95%CI: 1.14-2.57). Conclusions: There was high prevalence of emigration intention in the studied population; the economic factor was associated independently. However, English proficiency and academic regularity differed by gender