Mercenary Epidemiology: Data Reanalysis and Reinterpretation for Sponsors With Financial Interest in the Outcome. (.pdf link) When should scientists be required to release their raw data for (potentially hostile) re-analysis? A letter to the editors of Annals of Epidemiology from David Michaels, Ph.D., MPH,
public health blogger, author of the book
Doubt Is Their Product, and, as of December 2009, the
Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA, unanimously confirmed by the Senate despite the
dismay of some. Michaels
interviewed at Science Progress about
Doubt Is Their Product (podcast, with transcript.)
posted by escabeche
on Feb 11, 2010 -
9 comments
TheDataWeb - a network of online data libraries on topics including census data, economic data, health data, income and unemployment data, population data, labor data, cancer data, crime and transportation data, family dynamics, vital statistics data
posted by Gyan
on Dec 26, 2007 -
10 comments
In this week’s medical research update, being
mildly overweight might not be so bad for you. According to
one summary, “overweight people have a lower death rate because they are much less likely to die from a grab bag of diseases that includes Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, infections and lung disease. And that lower risk is not counteracted by increased risks of dying from any other disease, including cancer, diabetes or heart disease.” And so what is meant by “overweight” needs to be
reconsidered. But last week’s bulletin, discussed
here, suggested that longer life spans are associated with lower weights, and the
primary recommendation was to “Be as lean as possible without becoming underweight.” Allright: Epidemiological studies are hard to interpret and some people question the
science. Newspapers are oriented to breaking news and treat medical reports as such, relying on he said/she said quotes from experts instead of providing integrative analysis. So who exactly is going to put together the pieces? What about
NIH, your tax dollar at work? Or some blogs?
posted by cogneuro
on Nov 7, 2007 -
52 comments
The 2005 outbreak of
Corrupted Blood in
World of Warcraft may provide
epidemiologists with a new platform for studying the spread of disease.
By using these games as an untapped experimental framework, we may be able to gain deeper insight into the incredible complexity of infectious disease epidemiology in social groups.
It comes as no surprise that the
"stupid factor" plays a role in susceptibility to viral marketing, but it may also be a
factor in the spread of real life germs.
posted by solipsophistocracy
on Aug 21, 2007 -
37 comments
Who goes to POZ Parties? Researchers profile HIV-1 positive men who have sex with men (MSM) at so-called "
POZ parties": "Predominantly white and over the age of 30, subjects in the sample include a broad range of years living with HIV infection. Motivations for using a POZ Party venue for sexual partnering include relief from burdens for serostatus disclosure, an interest in not infecting others, and opportunities for unprotected sexual exchange. High rates of unprotected sex with multiple partners are prevalent in the venue. Although the sample evidences high rates of lifetime exposure to illicit drugs, relatively little drug use was reported in these sexual environments."
posted by docgonzo
on Dec 19, 2005 -
42 comments
Is H5N1 flu transitioning to a human-to-human illness? Recent
reports of familial clusters suggest that it may be, though there are certainly other possible explanations, such as families living in environments contaminated by virus-laden bird feces. On the other hand, it would seem that epidemiologists are growing increasingly interested in the possibility that these clusters are indicative of human-to-human transmissions. Further, the virus may be inching towards being asymptomatic, which isn't as good as it sounds: if people can carry the virus and transmit it to others without showing symptoms, it will be very difficult to impossible to tell who is a vector and highly difficult to control any emerging epidemic.
posted by chakalakasp
on Dec 2, 2005 -
23 comments
Where are the areas in the United States with highest marijuana use? Where are the areas with the lowest? A different kind of red versus blue. But wait, there's
more, especially if you would prefer to be binge drinking to wash away those lonesome blues. And a
list of information broken down by drug, if your fix is more obscure.
posted by nervousfritz
on Jun 17, 2005 -
48 comments
With a newly indurated PPD in my arm, I went looking for tuberculosis resources. According to the WHO over
2 million people a year die of tuberculosis. About a third of the 40 mil. people infected with HIV worldwide are also infected with TB. Successful treatment takes
6-9 months of powerful antibiotics, but that's assuming the bacteria in your body aren't
drug resistant. Epidemics of drug resistant TB are raging in some parts of Central America and in the
Russian prison system. Paul Farmer is the man for treating it, and quite a
good man in general.
On the plus side, possibly having TB puts me in good company:
Orwell,
Kafka,
Chekhov,
Chopin, and the 70s favorite mummy,
King Tut all had it. Every one of the
Brontes did too, and they were all geniuses. Of course they all died of it. On a more sober note, if I do have to get treatment, but I refuse, I might be
ordered to take medications by a
judge.
posted by OmieWise
on Dec 2, 2004 -
11 comments
The Hunt for the Origin of AIDS "The notion that AIDS arose from a polio vaccine made with contaminated chimpanzee cells is far from the only theory about how the epidemic started, and it is hotly disputed. The quest for the source of the epidemic is intensifying, as researchers scour the jungle for clues and try to "walk back" the disease genetically with the help of the world's most powerful computers."
posted by the fire you left me
on Dec 1, 2002 -
2 comments
Utah Leads Nation in Rate of Anti-Depressant Use. It is interesting (to me) in that the people doing the study credit a "Mother of Zion" syndrome of married Mormon women putting on the happy face regardless of how happy they truly are. My state is up at the top also. Could be all the rain I guess. . .*sigh*
posted by Danf
on Feb 20, 2002 -
45 comments
