Bad Science by Ben Goldacre

bad science
Dr. Ben Goldacre
Fourth Estate - London, 2008
Website: Bad Science


Purpose of this text: to inform the general public about how to better understand modern biomedical news and in particular health related news. He is a British doctor and keeps his focus on the British scene but his lessons are universal and badly needed. In an earlier post  I  made some comments on the chapter in this text "Professor Patrick Holford".

This is a very important book. If you have never read a text on how to read and understand biomedical literature yet read biomedical literature you should read this text.

Relative Risk and the Chernobyl Incident

Have a look at the abstract further down. It highlights something that we tend to ignore. We think that something like Chernobyl should have massive consequences but as indicated in studies on Nagasaki and Hiroshima mortality from radiation exposure was surprisingly low; excepting of course those in the immediate blast experience. What this study does highlight though is that even obesity and passive smoking is up there with radiation in terms of public health risk. I have long had concerns about the continuing polluting of our environment and the increasing amounts of artificial chemicals we are exposed too. These risks are "silent risks" in that they receive little attention but collectively these risks are going to cost individuals and governments a great deal of money.

Nutrients and Longevity

Today I read an interesting article in the New York Times that reminded me of earlier studies I had read. To read the full article you need to register with the NY Times. That is free and I recommend it because the health articles are amongst the best I've encountered in the mass media. (They will protect your privacy.) Balanced, referencing actual research, and the articles are very easy to read. The companion articles in relation to this issue can be read here, and here.

A Bright Side to Statins

In my earlier post, The Dark Side of Statins, I mentioned research indicating that statins may impede muscle repair. This latest finding claims that statins promote DNA repair enzymes and in so doing help protect the endothelium(inner lining of the blood vessels). The enzyme here is one involved in repairing what are referred to as "double strand breaks". These types of breaks are very damaging to the chromosomes because with the breaks bases fall away from the ends of the chromosome, so the more quickly this and other enzymes are brought into play the better the outcome. The news release can be read here.

It is important to remember that this study addressed the health and aging rate of cells in unhealthy arteries, which tend to age much faster than healthy arteries. Whether or not this statin will confer any substantial benefit to those with healthy arteries is a different question. Given the evidence that statins can induce side effects such as impaired muscle repair and there is also some evidence of cognitive issues arising with their use, there is little sense in advocating wide scale statin use for the general public. Remember the wonderful aspirin? Or how about the wonderful NSAID drugs, which turned out to be killing people and causing all manner of problems? These are great drugs but these are drugs to address specific pathologies and even then the long term use of the same may create more problems than those apparently solved.

We need to exercise some caution here. There is an emerging view that vast numbers of the public should be placed on statin drugs yet the real reason for this is because vast numbers of the public are leading lives destined to induce atherosclerosis and a host of other ailments. Claims that simply popping a statin will stave off the consequences of a poor lifestyle, even if these do have some validity, must be set against the enormous costs of drugs, the known side effects of drugs, and the unknown long term consequences of drugs.

All developed countries are faced with a number of huge health related issues. Health costs are out of control, hospitals are over crowded, and with an aging population the health burden is going to increase. We would all like to have our cake and eat it too. Eventually we will be forced to eat an apple, go for a run, and hopefully the medicine cabinet will remain empty for a very long time.

If you wish to maintain a healthy heart and cardiovascular system there is no great secret. It is as simple as regular light exercise, even just brisk walking, avoiding all drugs, legal or otherwise(excepting a couple of glasses of red wine with the evening meal), good stress management skills, and a healthy diet. Yeah, that's simple, but why can't I do it?