Medical Myth Prevention -- Understanding Medical News Last
reviewed on January 13, 2011 By Robert Shmerling, M.D. Some
nights the newscasts make it seem unsafe to eat, breathe,
exercise or sit still. Yet even as the number of hazards in our
daily lives seems to be multiplying, reports of treatment
breakthroughs and advances in scientific understanding abound.
It may be tempting to discount the warnings when danger seems
all around us, yet should we also discount the good news? The
answer in many cases is "yes" to both. In fact, some of the
dramatic risks and breakthroughs you may hear about are not so
impressive when you consider three common pitfalls in how
medical news is reported and interpreted: Take a June 2001 study
that found an increased risk of breast cancer among women older
than 65 with high bone density. If you read only the headline or
briefly glanced at the article, it might appear that high bone
density causes breast cancer. Yet high bone density generally
has been viewed as a good thing becaus