Skip to content
By using Twitter’s services you agree to our Cookies Use. We and our partners operate globally and use cookies, including for analytics, personalisation, and ads.
  • Home Home Home, current page.
  • About

Saved searches

  • Remove
  • In this conversation
    Verified accountProtected Tweets @
Suggested users
  • Verified accountProtected Tweets @
  • Verified accountProtected Tweets @
  • Language: English
    • Bahasa Indonesia
    • Bahasa Melayu
    • Català
    • Čeština
    • Dansk
    • Deutsch
    • English UK
    • Español
    • Filipino
    • Français
    • Hrvatski
    • Italiano
    • Magyar
    • Nederlands
    • Norsk
    • Polski
    • Português
    • Română
    • Slovenčina
    • Suomi
    • Svenska
    • Tiếng Việt
    • Türkçe
    • Ελληνικά
    • Български език
    • Русский
    • Српски
    • Українська мова
    • עִבְרִית
    • العربية
    • فارسی
    • मराठी
    • हिन्दी
    • বাংলা
    • ગુજરાતી
    • தமிழ்
    • ಕನ್ನಡ
    • ภาษาไทย
    • 한국어
    • 日本語
    • 简体中文
    • 繁體中文
  • Have an account? Log in
    Have an account?
    · Forgot password?

    New to Twitter?
    Sign up
GidMK's profile
Health Nerd
Health Nerd
Health Nerd
Verified account
@GidMK

Tweets

Health NerdVerified account

@GidMK

Epidemiologist. Writer (Guardian, Observer etc). "Well known research trouble-maker". PhDing at @UoW Host of @senscipod Email gidmk.healthnerd@gmail.com he/him

Sydney, New South Wales
theguardian.com/profile/gideon…
Joined November 2015

Tweets

  • © 2021 Twitter
  • About
  • Help Center
  • Terms
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies
  • Ads info
Dismiss
Previous
Next

Go to a person's profile

Saved searches

  • Remove
  • In this conversation
    Verified accountProtected Tweets @
Suggested users
  • Verified accountProtected Tweets @
  • Verified accountProtected Tweets @

Promote this Tweet

Block

  • Tweet with a location

    You can add location information to your Tweets, such as your city or precise location, from the web and via third-party applications. You always have the option to delete your Tweet location history. Learn more

    Your lists

    Create a new list


    Under 100 characters, optional

    Privacy

    Copy link to Tweet

    Embed this Tweet

    Embed this Video

    Add this Tweet to your website by copying the code below. Learn more

    Add this video to your website by copying the code below. Learn more

    Hmm, there was a problem reaching the server.

    By embedding Twitter content in your website or app, you are agreeing to the Twitter Developer Agreement and Developer Policy.

    Preview

    Why you're seeing this ad

    Log in to Twitter

    · Forgot password?
    Don't have an account? Sign up »

    Sign up for Twitter

    Not on Twitter? Sign up, tune into the things you care about, and get updates as they happen.

    Sign up
    Have an account? Log in »

    Two-way (sending and receiving) short codes:

    Country Code For customers of
    United States 40404 (any)
    Canada 21212 (any)
    United Kingdom 86444 Vodafone, Orange, 3, O2
    Brazil 40404 Nextel, TIM
    Haiti 40404 Digicel, Voila
    Ireland 51210 Vodafone, O2
    India 53000 Bharti Airtel, Videocon, Reliance
    Indonesia 89887 AXIS, 3, Telkomsel, Indosat, XL Axiata
    Italy 4880804 Wind
    3424486444 Vodafone
    » See SMS short codes for other countries

    Confirmation

     

    Welcome home!

    This timeline is where you’ll spend most of your time, getting instant updates about what matters to you.

    Tweets not working for you?

    Hover over the profile pic and click the Following button to unfollow any account.

    Say a lot with a little

    When you see a Tweet you love, tap the heart — it lets the person who wrote it know you shared the love.

    Spread the word

    The fastest way to share someone else’s Tweet with your followers is with a Retweet. Tap the icon to send it instantly.

    Join the conversation

    Add your thoughts about any Tweet with a Reply. Find a topic you’re passionate about, and jump right in.

    Learn the latest

    Get instant insight into what people are talking about now.

    Get more of what you love

    Follow more accounts to get instant updates about topics you care about.

    Find what's happening

    See the latest conversations about any topic instantly.

    Never miss a Moment

    Catch up instantly on the best stories happening as they unfold.

    1. Health Nerd‏Verified account @GidMK 21 Aug 2018

      Health Nerd Retweeted Business Insider Australia

      Oh god, it's happening again That's not what this study found, it's not true, moderate drinking isn't good for you 1/https://twitter.com/BIAUS/status/1032062702124818433 …

      Health Nerd added,

      Business Insider AustraliaVerified account @BIAUS
      A health study looked at 35,000 people over 10 years and concluded moderate drinking is good for you http://bit.ly/2OWWZi1 
      3 replies 21 retweets 54 likes
      Show this thread
      Health Nerd‏Verified account @GidMK 21 Aug 2018

      The study that's being reported here is a meta-analysis of 6 different observational trials looking at drinking habits in England and France 2/pic.twitter.com/kyXyB7CZrO

      6:49 PM - 21 Aug 2018
      • 2 Likes
      • Gina TheHoppit
      1 reply 0 retweets 2 likes
        1. New conversation
        2. Health Nerd‏Verified account @GidMK 21 Aug 2018

          This means that the researchers combined the data from 6 studies into one big analysis, and looked at the associations between drinking and heart disease 3/ You can find the study here: https://bmcmedicine.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12916-018-1123-6#Tab2 …

          1 reply 1 retweet 4 likes
          Show this thread
        3. Health Nerd‏Verified account @GidMK 21 Aug 2018

          What has previous research shown on this topic? Well, if you look at observational trials done in the last few years, you find a wildly mixed bag 4/

          1 reply 0 retweets 2 likes
          Show this thread
        4. Health Nerd‏Verified account @GidMK 21 Aug 2018

          I've written about this before. Essentially, depending on the number of confounding variables you control for, you either find moderate drinking to be protective or causative for heart disease 5/https://medium.com/@gidmk/the-myth-of-moderate-drinking-6c05687179d7 …

          1 reply 2 retweets 6 likes
          Show this thread
        5. Health Nerd‏Verified account @GidMK 21 Aug 2018

          Back to the study at hand. The researchers looked at moderate drinking and chronic heart disease, as well as heart disease deaths, in an observational trial. They controlled for only a few confounders in their analysis. Do you think they found moderate drinking to be: 6/

          1 reply 0 retweets 1 like
          Show this thread
        6. Health Nerd‏Verified account @GidMK 21 Aug 2018

          Bit of an easy question there: moderate drinking was associated with a lower risk of heart disease and cardiovascular mortality. Not surprising 7/pic.twitter.com/YAAzs4vUus

          1 reply 0 retweets 1 like
          Show this thread
        7. Health Nerd‏Verified account @GidMK 21 Aug 2018

          But what about HEAVY drinkers? People who had more than 21 standard drinks per week? Protective or causative of heart disease? 8/

          1 reply 0 retweets 1 like
          Show this thread
        8. Health Nerd‏Verified account @GidMK 21 Aug 2018

          Now, see, this should be easy too. Prior research has consistently shown that, above a fairly low threshold (1-2 drinks per day), drinking is terrible for your heart

          1 reply 0 retweets 2 likes
          Show this thread
        9. Health Nerd‏Verified account @GidMK 21 Aug 2018

          But guess what? This study found the opposite! Heavy drinking was associated with the same reduced risk as moderate drinkingpic.twitter.com/nfZk8UekG4

          1 reply 1 retweet 1 like
          Show this thread
        10. Health Nerd‏Verified account @GidMK 21 Aug 2018

          In fact, the only groups that this study found to be at greater risk of heart disease were never-drinkers and former drinkers Weird, thatpic.twitter.com/V8kSL1lv7A

          1 reply 1 retweet 3 likes
          Show this thread
        11. Health Nerd‏Verified account @GidMK 21 Aug 2018

          It's easy to see why people who used to drink might be worse off - they are likely former alcoholics in recovery But what about consistent non-drinkers?

          1 reply 0 retweets 2 likes
          Show this thread
        12. Health Nerd‏Verified account @GidMK 21 Aug 2018

          There are a few possibilities: 1. Former alcoholics who misreported their drinking status 2. Unhealthy people (i.e. chronic liver disease) who don't drink for that reason 3. Unable to afford alcohol, and likely less well off 4. Rare non-health-related-abstainer

          2 replies 1 retweet 6 likes
          Show this thread
        13. Health Nerd‏Verified account @GidMK 21 Aug 2018

          But, I digress (and also messed up my threading somewhere) I was talking about heavy drinkers. What could possibly make them healthier?

          2 replies 0 retweets 1 like
          Show this thread
        14. Health Nerd‏Verified account @GidMK 21 Aug 2018

          If you have a look at this table of demographics, it'll give you a massive hint:pic.twitter.com/DhKal1mZp3

          1 reply 0 retweets 1 like
          Show this thread
        15. Health Nerd‏Verified account @GidMK 21 Aug 2018

          Yes, it appears that social factors are almost certainly to blame. If you compare the former/never drinkers with everyone else, they are older, fatter, and poorer

          1 reply 1 retweet 5 likes
          Show this thread
        16. Health Nerd‏Verified account @GidMK 21 Aug 2018

          What this means is that there are likely many confounding variables that this observational research did not pick up on, what's known as residual confoundingpic.twitter.com/M1MVWismMY

          1 reply 0 retweets 9 likes
          Show this thread
        17. Health Nerd‏Verified account @GidMK 21 Aug 2018

          Since this study was a bunched-together analysis of several observational studies, there are always going to be factors that could not be included in the analysis

          1 reply 0 retweets 3 likes
          Show this thread
        18. Health Nerd‏Verified account @GidMK 21 Aug 2018

          And, to their credit, the authors acknowledge this cheerfully:pic.twitter.com/2zXvFpgTvs

          1 reply 0 retweets 4 likes
          Show this thread
        19. Health Nerd‏Verified account @GidMK 21 Aug 2018

          In fact, the authors recommend caution generally, because of the weird association with heavy drinking that they foundpic.twitter.com/GGz0KivsHv

          1 reply 1 retweet 3 likes
          Show this thread
        20. Health Nerd‏Verified account @GidMK 21 Aug 2018

          The other thing to note is that, while the hazard ratios look impressive (50% more heart disease in the non-drinkers!), the absolute risk differences were very small - between 1 and 2 percent

          1 reply 0 retweets 4 likes
          Show this thread
        21. Health Nerd‏Verified account @GidMK 21 Aug 2018

          So Moderate drinking isn't good for you This study found a weak and strange association between drinking and a reduced risk of heart disease It is ALMOST CERTAINLY explained by social differences between the groups they looked at

          1 reply 3 retweets 7 likes
          Show this thread
        22. Health Nerd‏Verified account @GidMK 21 Aug 2018

          What's even worse, the main finding of the study wasn't even about moderate drinking per se. The authors were really looking at whether INCONSISTENT - i.e. heavy/moderate/heavy/light - drinking was problematic And they found that it was

          1 reply 1 retweet 5 likes
          Show this thread
        23. Health Nerd‏Verified account @GidMK 21 Aug 2018

          Now, this finding suffers from the same issues as the other ones, but still, that's a really interesting result that deserves further investigation Not at all "Moderate drinking is good for you"

          1 reply 0 retweets 2 likes
          Show this thread
        24. Health Nerd‏Verified account @GidMK 21 Aug 2018

          Bottom line: moderate drinking is almost certainly harmful to your health Don't drink to be healthy, because it isn't That's not a great story, but it's the truth

          1 reply 1 retweet 11 likes
          Show this thread
        25. Health Nerd‏Verified account @GidMK 21 Aug 2018

          Also, as has been pointed out, heavy drinking is DEFINITELY BAD FOR YOU 21+ drinks a week (3+ bottles of wine) is bad, don't do it, get help if you need it to stop

          2 replies 3 retweets 12 likes
          Show this thread
        26. End of conversation

      Loading seems to be taking a while.

      Twitter may be over capacity or experiencing a momentary hiccup. Try again or visit Twitter Status for more information.

        Promoted Tweet

        false

        • © 2021 Twitter
        • About
        • Help Center
        • Terms
        • Privacy policy
        • Cookies
        • Ads info