Thus, to expect the same death rate in such patients as in the general population would be like blaming insulin for decreased longevity in diabetics (who suffer cardiac and renal disease more frequently than non-diabetics). In fact, it would be big medical news if there were no increase in deaths in patients treated with growth hormone, because that would imply that the drug actually provides a life-prolonging effect in a population expected to die prematurely.
可见，期望这些病人和常人拥有相同的死亡率，无异于指责胰岛素缩短了糖尿病人的寿命（糖尿病人要比非糖尿病人更频繁地遭遇心脏和肾脏疾病）。相反，如果服用了增高激素的病人死亡率没有升高，那才是医学界的大新闻呢。因为这意味着这些药物实际上延长了一个低寿命群体的生命。