As BJGP editor I was recently asked (again) to discuss 10 interesting papers from the last year at the Royal Society of Medicine’s general practice and primary care update. These are not, necessarily, the most heavily cited or downloaded, but they do showcase some of the range of topics we cover in the BJGP. Where possible, as it is for an update day, I try to pick papers where there is a key clinical message or it will give some pause for thought on how we deliver care generally.

I can only give a flavour of them here — but click through to the BJGP and read the full articles for any that catch your eye.

AT NUMBER 10 — HEAVY MENSTRUAL BLEEDINGDutton B, Kai J. Women’s experiences of heavy menstrual bleeding and medical treatment: a qualitative study in primary care. Br J Gen Pract 2023; DOI: https://doi.org/10.3399/BJGP.2022.0460 (https://bjgp.org/content/73/729/e294)

In some ways, this paper is a good-news story — many women were getting, and were valuing, the patient-centred care they got from their GP. Yet, we shouldn’t underestimate how long it takes women to attend and how they may be reticent to disclose details and difficulties with their periods. We have to keep asking: ‘Heavy menstrual bleeding (HMB) is known to significantly affect women’s health and quality of life, with pressure to conceal symptoms. Recent evidence on women’s experiences of HMB and its treatment after seeking primary care is lacking. This research shows the debilitating impact of HMB on women, and the challenges they can still face, including overcoming taboo and low general awareness that treatment can help. Women had widely differing experiences of current medical treatments for HMB in general practice and emphasised how they valued patient-centred communication in helping them.’

AT NUMBER 9 — HOARDING DISORDERMorein-Zamir S, Ahluwalia S. Hoarding disorder: evidence and best practice in primary care. Br J Gen Pract 2023; DOI: https://doi.org/10.3399/bjgp23X732513 (https://bjgp.org/content/73/729/182)

Until this was published in the BJGP, hoarding disorder (HD) was something of which I knew little − but it was only in 2013 that HD was listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) and in …