Too much unhealthy media coverage of medical tests

A big international examine revealed at the moment within the main US medical journal JAMA Inner Medication finds the media is commonly failing to cowl the potential harms of recent medical assessments that are designed to detect the early indicators of illness in wholesome folks.

The examine additionally discovered media tales typically fail to report on conflicts of curiosity of researchers selling the brand new assessments.

Researchers from the College of Sydney and Bond College analyzed over 1100 current information tales about 5 new early detection assessments together with:

• Liquid blood biopsies to detect cancers
• Apple Watch to detect Atrial Fibrillation
• Blood assessments for dementia
• Synthetic Intelligence assessments for dementia
• 3D mammography for breast most cancers

Failure to cowl necessary potential harms

Whereas nearly all of the 1173 analyzed tales reported on the potential advantages of those assessments, over 60% of tales didn’t make point out of any potential harms.

One story claimed: “A easy blood take a look at can now detect dementia many years earlier than any signs seem…” and advocated utilizing the take a look at throughout routine well being checks.

One other story supplied unbalanced protection of a brand new take a look at for a number of cancers: “Dubbed the ‘holy grail’ for most cancers care, liquid biopsy might considerably shorten prognosis time (and) discover very early-stage most cancers in these with no signs.”

“For all 5 of the assessments coated in our JAMA Inner Medication examine, there may be concern that among the wholesome folks examined will likely be wrongly labeled as sick,” says Dr. Ray Moynihan, Assistant Professor at Bond College and senior creator on the examine. “But this potential hurt of overdiagnosis was solely talked about in 5% of tales.”

Lead creator, Dr. Mary O’Keeffe from the College of Sydney, mentioned: “Whereas these assessments sound interesting, and may carry advantages, each time we take a look at wholesome folks there is a hazard that some folks will likely be wrongly labeled as sick. This could trigger overdiagnosis and overtreatment.”

Overdiagnosis happens when folks obtain a prognosis of a illness or situation that may by no means develop to trigger any signs or early loss of life. It’s an pointless prognosis that does extra hurt than good. Proof revealed final yr within the Medical Journal of Australia exhibits that for frequent cancers, round one in 5 cancers could also be overdiagnosed.

Failure to cowl necessary conflicts of curiosity

One other key discovering from the examine is the widespread failure of media tales to cowl necessary conflicts of curiosity, equivalent to commentators receiving funds from the businesses advertising and marketing the brand new assessments. For instance, 19 of twenty-two authors of a key trial inspecting the flexibility of the Apple Watch to detect atrial fibrillation disclosed taking grants or private charges from Apple, but this data was hardly ever reported in information tales.

Whereas over half the 1173 tales within the examine included the views of commentators with necessary monetary conflicts of curiosity, these conflicts had been solely coated in 12% of tales.

Methods to enhance media protection wanted

The paper concludes: “Methods to enhance media reporting in order that professionals, sufferers and the general public obtain extra balanced details about early detection assessments are urgently wanted.”

“Greater high quality medical reporting is extra full medical reporting—protecting advantages, harms, and conflicts of curiosity,” says Dr. Moynihan, who’s working with Dr. O’Keeffe and colleagues on a pilot examine of recent coaching interventions for journalists.

Offered by
Nationwide Well being and Medical Analysis Council