Health

The Political Interests of the Media

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An interesting article appears in the Journal of Medical Ethics, December 2012, vol. 38, pp. 768-770, titled “Medicine, the media and political interests,” by Wendy Lipworth, Ian Kerridge, Bronwen Morrell, Catriona Bonfiglioli, and Rowena Forsyth. The authors mention how the news media is often criticized for failing to support the goals of government health programs. The authors mention a statement in the American Journal of Public Health “(i)nadequate, misleading or incomplete news reporting constitutes a public health threat. Such reporting can lead people to make misguided choices that may put their health at risk or influence policymakers to adopt inadequate or harmful laws, regulations, or policies.” Some have even argued that the media should consider it’s health functions to be more important than it’s other functions. The authors state “News journalism prides itself on providing a public service as a … Read more

Dietary Goals of the United States

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I have previously written about  Dr. McDougall through finding his newsletter in a Google Search where he discussed how to protect yourself from abusive doctors. See https://blog.teethremoval.com/how-to-protect-yourself-from-abusive-doctors/. Earlier this year I also discussed in a post some of Dr. McDougalls thought’s on Food, Children, and Diet where he wrote to governor Rick Scott of Florida claiming that various food industries are engaged in child abuse. In his newsletter from October 2012, he discussed former democratic senator George McGovern and his McGovern report from 1977 where guideline for eating were developed, http://www.drmcdougall.com/misc/2012nl/oct/mcgovern.htm. Dr. McDougall says that the McGovern report says “…there is a great deal of evidence and it continues to accumulate, which strongly implicates and, in some instances, proves that the major causes of death and disability in the United States are related to the diet we eat…What are the … Read more

Periodontal Disease and Pregnancy Risks

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An often disagreed point in the literature is whether or not periodontal disease is associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes such as preterm births and low birth weight. I have discussed this some more on the risks of keeping wisdom teeth page over at http://www.teethremoval.com/risks_of_keeping_wisdom_teeth.html. I discussed how in a meta-analysis of 10 randomized trials in January 2011 found no evidence in favor of periodontal disease being associated with preterm births and low birth weight. The source for this study is Mariana Fampa Fogacci and et al. The Effect of Periodontal Therapy on Preterm Low Birth Weight: A Meta-Analysis. Obstetrics & Gynecology. vol. 117. issue 1. pages 153-165. January 2011. In a letter in J Can Dent Assoc 2012; 78: c120 there is an articled titled “Periodontal Disease and Pregnancy Risks,” which was published on on September 24, 2012 over at http://www.jcda.ca/article/c120 … Read more

How to Determine If a Clinical Practice Guideline is Trustworthy

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An interesting article titled “How to Decide Whether a Clinical Practice Guideline Is Trustworthy,” written by David F. Ransohoff, MD Michael Pignone, MD, MPH, and Harold C. Sox, MD appears in JAMA, January 9, 2013,Vol 309, No. 2, pp. 139 -140. The article mentions how many controversies have arose recently over cancer screening guidelines. The article mentions how in 2008 Congress gave the Institute of Medicine (IOM) of the National Academies with developing standards for objective, scientifically valid, and consistent approaches to developing practice guidelines. Well as I mentioned in this blog post Tips to Prevent Medical Errors – AHRQ Congress actually gave the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research (AHCPR) in 1989 evidence-based, clinical-practice guidelines. However, the medical device industry and several doctors organizations opposed this as it was threatening to limit their profits and found a sympathetic ear … Read more

Anti Affordable Care Act (Anti ObamaCare) Ads with Uncle Sam

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In the United States, with the ObamaCare exchanges set to go live on Tuesday and the looming government shutdown also set for Tuesday, I wanted to draw your attention to some recent ads you may have missed. Now I came across these ads watching Real time with Bill Maher last week, where Bill plays one of the ads on his program and discusses it. The videos are designed to deter young people from signing up for the ObamaCare exchanges and do so by featuring a young man and a young woman about to undergo prostate and pelvic exams. The ads are from from Generation Opportunity, a Virginia-based group with ties to the Koch brothers. I have embedded the two ads below and they both show two young college age students who have their first doctors appointment using the new ObamaCare … Read more