Pubdate: Thu, 28 Jul 2005 Source: Daily Iowan, The (IA Edu) Copyright: 2005 The Daily Iowan Contact: http://www.dailyiowan.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/937 Copyright: 2005 The Daily Iowan Author: Jon Haman STUDIES MAY BE OVERSTATED, NEW JAMA REPORT SAYS Nearly one out of every three published medical studies may be exaggerated or simply untrue, a new study says. The study's results, which were published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, concluded that 16 percent of the studies examined were later contradicted and another 16 percent were weakened by further testing. These numbers led the authors to conclude that almost one-third of published medical research findings may not hold up. Donald Heistad, a UI professor of internal medicine, was glad to see the study because it brings to light important facts about medical research the public and media don't realize, he said. "There is an inherent probability that some findings will be wrong," he said. "When you have to rely on statistics [for research], there's a built-in chance for error." He added that the media are to blame for some of the misinterpretation. "The media latch onto surprising findings; if a study happens to find that cholesterol isn't harmful, they'll focus on it," he said. "I think it's an error by the press to overstate such findings and also an error by the public to accept them." Robert Wallace, a UI professor of epidemiology, agreed, but he attributed a large part of the exaggeration to lack of technical understanding by writers. "Most of the media are pretty responsible, and they don't want to go beyond what the results say - they just don't have the technical expertise [to interpret the results]," he said. He has been on both sides of the issue. He and his colleagues found results during an observational study 25 years ago indicating that estrogen protected the heart from coronary disease. Later, randomized trials contradicted their conclusion, and further research was halted. "There's no great sin to have scientific findings that turn out to be wrong," he said. "[Scientists] put their findings out to be refuted." The study also emphasized that journals tend to include results that are new and exciting. Doing this may place additional expectations on researchers. "Scientists know it's easier to publish a positive finding where a therapy has been proven effective rather than a negative one where a therapy's effectiveness is questioned," Heistad said. "This doesn't mean they will exaggerate, it just means they'll have an easier time getting [a positive finding] published." Wallace also acknowledged the problem, adding that major medical journals are taking steps to reduce the problem. "It's very difficult for the public to find truth [and] there is only one solution; talk to an expert," Heistad said. "People should talk to their doctors; they're expected to be knowledgeable about these recent findings." - --- MAP posted-by: Beth