RESUMO
In recent years lifestyle interventions have gained traction as increasingly useful ways to promote health among the population. Within these changes, nutrition remains paramount. We aimed to present an overview of the current status of nutrition education in UK undergraduate medical curricula, highlighting pockets of innovative teaching, alongside areas for improvement. Nutrition competency is outlined in General Medical Council Outcomes for Graduates, increasingly featured in mainstream headlines and relevant to each medical speciality. Drawing on our personal experiences we offer insights and suggestions on how the delivery and assessment of nutrition education could be improved. We believe that integrating nutrition into core curricula is urgently needed in order to increase students' and doctors' confidence in discussing the topic of nutrition with patients, with the aim to empower patients to make health promoting dietary changes.
RESUMO
AIM: To synthesise a selection of UK medical students' and doctors' views surrounding nutrition in medical education and practice. METHODS: Information was gathered from surveys of medical students and doctors identified between 2015 and 2018 and an evaluation of nutrition teaching in a single UK medical school. Comparative analysis of the findings was undertaken to answer three questions: the perceived importance of nutrition in medical education and practice, adequacy of nutrition training, and confidence in current nutrition knowledge and skills. RESULTS: We pooled five heterogeneous sources of information, representing 853 participants. Most agreed on the importance of nutrition in health (>90%) and in a doctor's role in nutritional care (>95%). However, there was less desire for more nutrition education in doctors (85%) and in medical students (68%). Most felt their nutrition training was inadequate, with >70% reporting less than 2 hours. There was a preference for face-to-face rather than online training. At one medical school, nutrition was included in only one module, but this increased to eight modules following an increased nutrition focus. When medical students were asked about confidence in their nutrition knowledge and on advising patients, there was an even split between agree and disagree (p=0.869 and p=0.167, respectively), yet few were confident in the UK dietary guidelines. Only 26% of doctors were confident in their nutrition knowledge and 74% gave nutritional advice less than once a month, citing lack of knowledge (75%), time (64%) and confidence (62%) as the main barriers. There was some recognition of the importance of a collaborative approach, yet 28% of doctors preferred to get specialist advice rather than address nutrition themselves. CONCLUSION: There is a desire and a need for more nutrition within medical education, as well as a need for greater clarity of a doctor's role in nutritional care and when to refer for specialist advice. Despite potential selection bias and limitations in the sampling frame, this synthesis provides a multifaceted snapshot via a large number of insights from different levels of training through medical students to doctors from which further research can be developed.
RESUMO
A large proportion of cardiovascular (CV) pathology results from immune-mediated damage, including systemic inflammation and cellular proliferation, which cause a narrowing of the blood vessels. Expansions of cytotoxic CD4+ T cells characterized by loss of CD28 ("CD4+CD28- T cells" or "CD4+CD28null cells") are closely associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD), in particular coronary artery damage. Direct involvement of these cells in damaging the vasculature has been demonstrated repeatedly. Moreover, CD4+CD28- T cells are significantly increased in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and other autoimmune conditions. It is striking that expansions of this subset beyond 1-2% occur exclusively in CMV-infected people. CMV infection itself is known to increase the severity of autoimmune diseases, in particular RA and has also been linked to increased vascular pathology. A review of the recent literature on immunological changes in CVD, RA, and CMV infection provides strong evidence that expansions of cytotoxic CD4+CD28- T cells in RA and other chronic inflammatory conditions are limited to CMV-infected patients and driven by CMV infection. They are likely to be responsible for the excess CV mortality observed in these situations. The CD4+CD28- phenotype convincingly links CMV infection to CV mortality based on a direct cellular-pathological mechanism rather than epidemiological association.
