ObjectiveThis study investigates the adherence to ethical principles in doctoral dissertations focused on human as the research subject, aiming to provide a foundation for enhancing ethical awareness among medical doctoral candidates. MethodsUtilizing the Chinese database of doctoral dissertations, a total of 1 733 relevant papers published in 2021 were collected. The study compared ethical considerations among double first-class universities, other high-ranking institutions, different university types, various disciplines, diverse training orientations, enrollment types, and medical doctoral dissertations from different regions. ResultsIn 2021, among Chinese medical doctoral dissertations involving human as the research subject, 73.34% mentioned ethical considerations, and 86.27% mentioned informed consent. Dissertations reporting ethical approval descriptions, approval numbers, ethical approvals, and informed consent constituted only 2.19%. Notably, 12.52% of medical doctoral dissertations failed to incorporate ethical considerations and informed consent details in their content. ConclusionThe ethical awareness of medical doctoral candidates in China and the reporting of ethical information in their dissertations require urgent enhancement and improvement.
Mendelian randomization (MR) studies use genetic variants as instrumental variables to explore the effects of exposures on health outcomes. STROBE-MR (strengthening the reporting of observational studies in epidemiology using Mendelian randomization) assists authors in reporting their MR studies clearly and transparently, and helpfully to improve the quality of MR. This paper interpreted the STROBE-MR, aiming to help Chinese scholars better understand, disseminate, and apply it.