BackgroundIn resource-poor settings with low doctor-population ratio, there is need for equitable distribution of healthcare workforce. The specialty preferences of medical students determine the future composition of physician workforce hence its relevance in career guidance, healthcare planning and policy formulation. This study was aimed at determining the specialty preferences of final year medical students in medical schools of southeast Nigeria, the gender differences in choice of specialty and the availability of career guidance to the students during the period of training.MethodsA descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among final year medical students in the six accredited medical schools in southeast Nigeria using self-administered semi-structured questionnaire. Information on reason for studying Medicine, specialty preference and career guidance were obtained. Chi-square test of statistical significance was used in the analysis.ResultsA total of 457 students participated in the study with a response rate of 86.7 %. The mean age was 25.5 ± 2.9 years and 57.1 % were male. Majority (51 %) opted to study Medicine in-order to save lives while 89.5 % intended to pursue postgraduate medical training. A higher proportion (51.8 %) made the decision during the period of clinical rotation. The five most preferred specialties among the students were Surgery (24.0 %); Paediatrics (18.8 %); Obstetrics and Gynaecology (15.6 %); Internal Medicine (11.0 %) and Community Medicine (6.8 %) while Pathology (2.0 %); Anaesthesia (0.7 %) and Ear, Nose and Throat (0.2 %), were the least preferred. Compared to females, a higher proportion of male students intended to specialise in Surgery (32.3 % vs 13.0 %, p < 0.001) in contrast to Paediatrics (11.2 % vs 28.8 %, p < 0.001). Majority of the students, 74.6 % had no form of career guidance during their stay in medical school and 11.2 % were undecided on choice of specialty.ConclusionIn spite of the high proportion of students willing to pursue specialist medical training after graduation, most opted for the four core clinical specialities of Surgery, Paediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynaecology and Internal Medicine. Majority of the students made these decisions during clinical rotations. Also, majority had no form of career guidance throughout their stay in medical school. To ensure an equitable distribution of a limited physician workforce in a resource-poor setting, there is need for proper career guidance for the students and this should be in line with the national health needs.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12909-016-0781-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

In this cohort of obese people with T2DM, intensification of dual oral therapy by adding GLP-1ar analogue is associated with a lower MACE outcome in routine clinical practice, compared with adding insulin therapy as the third glucose-lowering agent.

Based on a large UK cohort in routine clinical practice, adding a GLP-1RA to insulin therapy is associated with a reduction in risk of composite CV events and all-cause mortality but a nonsignificant higher risk of hospitalization for heart failure in overweight patients with T2D.

Abnormalities of glucose metabolism and glucose tolerance, either because of a reduction in tissue sensitivity to insulin (e.g., in liver, skeletal muscle, and adipose tissues) and/or a reduction in pancreatic insulin secretion, are associated with a number of unwanted health outcomes. Even small increases in circulating glucose levels (often described as dysglycemia or prediabetes) may confer an increased risk of cardiovascular (CV) disease and progression to overt type 2 diabetes. A number of drug therapies, many of them used long term in chronic disease management, have adverse effects on glucose metabolism, diabetes risk, and glycemic control among patients with preexisting diabetes. In this study, we review the evidence, underlying mechanisms, and the clinical significance of drug-related adverse effects on glucose metabolism.

Summary Background NHS England has recommended a multidisciplinary weight management services (MWMS—Tier 3 services) for patients requiring specialized management of obesity, including bariatric surgery, but clinical and measurable health‐related outcomes from these services remains fragmented. We therefore undertook a systematic review to explore the evidence base of effect on body weight loss and comorbidities outcomes of Tier 3 or UK pre‐bariatric MWMPs. Methods AMED, CINAHL, EMBASE, HMIC, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, PubMed, HDAS search and Google Scholar were searched from January 2000 to September 2017 in a free‐text fashion and crossed‐references of included studies to identify potential illegibility. Inclusion criteria were as follows: (a) published Tier 3 original study abstracts/articles; (b) intervention studies with before and after data; (c) studies that included any sort of MWMPs conducted on British residents with obesity; and (d) studies included T2DM measurements in a MWMPs. Results In total, 19 studies met the inclusion criteria. The total number of participants analysed was N = 11,735. Baseline accumulative average BMI was calculated at 42.54 kg/m 2 , weight 117.88 kg and waist circumference 126.9 cm. And at 6 months, 40.73 kg/m 2 , 112.17 kg and 120.3 cm, respectively. Secondary outcome variables were as improved with reduction in HbA1c, fasting blood sugars, insulin usage and blood pressure. Physical activity increased at 3 months then declined after 6 months with no significant changes in cholesterol levels. Conclusion Tier 3 and MWMPs have a short to mid‐ranged positive effect on obese patients (BMI ≥30 kg/m 2 ) living in the UK regarding accumulated reduction in weight, glycaemic control, blood pressure and with subtle improvements in physical activity.

These results highlight specific discrepancies in the HbA reduction and weight change in insulin regimen between real world versus RCT populations; with greater reduction in HbA and greater increase in weight observed in the RCT population than in the real-world population. Also, the basal-bolus regimens in both real-world and RCT populations showed greater reduction in HbA compared to the premix regimen (though more marked in RCTs), while the premix regimen showed greater increase in weight in real-world, as against basal-bolus in the RCT population.

Background: Overt albuminuria (urinary albumin-creatinine ratio [ACR] > 300 mg/g) is an established risk factor for progression of nephropathy and total mortality. However, whether a reduction in ACR translates into a reduction in mortality and/or cardiovascular (CV) events among insulin-treated patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) in routine practice is currently not known. Methods: We obtained data on a large cohort of insulin users with T2D and nephropathy (baseline ACR ≥300 mg/g) from UK general practices between 2007 and 2014. Their corresponding ACR values after 1year of follow-up were thereafter categorized into: (1) < 300 mg/g (i.e., albuminuria regression) or (2) > 300 mg/g (i.e., nonregression of albuminuria), and the cohort was followed-up for 5 years for all-cause mortality and CV events. Cox proportional hazard models were fitted to estimate the risk of all-cause death. Results: A total of 11,074 patients with insulin-treated T2D met the inclusion criteria. Their mean age was 62.3 (13.6) years; mean HbA1c: 8.7 (1.8) and 53% were male. A total of 682 deaths occurred after a follow-up period of 43,393 person-years with a mortality rate of 16 per 1,000 person-years. Five-year survival was markedly reduced in the group whose proteinuria persisted or progressed (91 vs. 95%; log-rank p value < 0.001). Compared to patients whose ACR levels remained above 300 mg/g, all-cause mortality and CV events were 31 and 27% lower in those whose albuminuria regressed to < 300 mg/g (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] 0.69; 95% CI 0.52–0.91; p = 0.008 and aHR 0. 73; 95% CI 0.54–0.98; p = 0.041), respectively. Conclusion: In patients with insulin-treated T2D and nephropathy in routine practice, a regression in albuminuria (e.g., via better BP or glycemic control) is associated with a significant reduction in all-cause mortality. Thus, albuminuria is not only simply a risk marker of renal and CV disease but also an independent target for therapy. Albuminuria reduction should be viewed as a goal for renal and CV protection.

IntroductionPre-eclampsia is a hypertensive gestational disorder that affects approximately 5% of all pregnancies.ObjectivesAs the pathophysiological processes of pre-eclampsia are still uncertain, the present case–control study explored underlying metabolic processes characterising this disease.MethodsMaternal peripheral plasma samples were collected from pre-eclamptic (n = 32) and healthy pregnant women (n = 35) in the third trimester. After extraction, high-resolution mass spectrometry-based untargeted metabolomics was used to profile polar and apolar metabolites and the resulting data were analysed via uni- and multivariate statistical approaches.ResultsThe study demonstrated that the metabolome undergoes substantial changes in pre-eclamptic women. Amongst the most discriminative metabolites were hydroxyhexacosanoic acid, diacylglycerols, glycerophosphoinositols, nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide metabolites, bile acids and products of amino acid metabolism.ConclusionsThe putatively identified compounds provide sources for novel hypotheses to help understanding of the underlying biochemical pathology of pre-eclampsia.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1007/s11306-019-1600-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.