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GidMK's profile
Health Nerd
Health Nerd
Health Nerd
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@GidMK

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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

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    Health Nerd‏Verified account @GidMK 3 Oct 2018

    I often find discussion about industry funding in research very frustrating Industry funding doesn't necessarily mean a study is bad: a thread

    3:03 PM - 3 Oct 2018
    • 15 Retweets
    • 37 Likes
    • Alan (Zig) St Clair Gibson Dr Fiona James Hightower Clinical Ashley Holub, PhD JasonConnor Medical Student barttels Stephanie Feldt Nicholas Mills
    4 replies 15 retweets 37 likes
      1. New conversation
      2. Health Nerd‏Verified account @GidMK 3 Oct 2018

        The basic assumption is this: companies fund research to prove that their products work. This is fairly obvious. No money in showing that your product is useless!

        1 reply 0 retweets 4 likes
        Show this thread
      3. Health Nerd‏Verified account @GidMK 3 Oct 2018

        This leads to all sorts of potential conflicts of interest. @bengoldacre covers the various ways in which pharmaceutical companies can/do mislead in their research in his book Bad Pharma

        1 reply 0 retweets 6 likes
        Show this thread
      4. Health Nerd‏Verified account @GidMK 3 Oct 2018

        And we see this fairly easily. There is a lot of research demonstrating that industry-funded studies are more likely to give positive resultspic.twitter.com/4WqKHzWxgQ

        1 reply 0 retweets 7 likes
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      5. Health Nerd‏Verified account @GidMK 3 Oct 2018

        BUT Here's where it gets tricky Numerous systematic reviews have also identified a key problem: industry-funded trials are just as good IF NOT BETTER than non-industry funded trialspic.twitter.com/dAENRM9xek

        3 replies 0 retweets 8 likes
        Show this thread
      6. Health Nerd‏Verified account @GidMK 3 Oct 2018

        This also makes sense: the industry has to use these studies to get drugs through regulatory authorities. Bad studies are less likely to lead to an approved drug!

        1 reply 0 retweets 6 likes
        Show this thread
      7. Health Nerd‏Verified account @GidMK 3 Oct 2018

        So what's happening here? The conclusion of the Cochrane review I pictured above gives you some idea... https://www.cochrane.org/MR000033/METHOD_industry-sponsorship-and-research-outcome …pic.twitter.com/NsVcfiv8JW

        1 reply 0 retweets 4 likes
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      8. Health Nerd‏Verified account @GidMK 3 Oct 2018

        The other systematic review I cited also paints a bit of a picturepic.twitter.com/Ee8ejUgQO8

        1 reply 0 retweets 3 likes
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      9. Health Nerd‏Verified account @GidMK 3 Oct 2018

        What do you think it is?

        3 replies 3 retweets 1 like
        Show this thread
      10. Health Nerd‏Verified account @GidMK 3 Oct 2018

        See, the thing is, if you look at each individual study under a microscope, it looks like the industry is doing everything right! Maybe some sneaky things here and there, but in general they do as well as or better than independent research

        2 replies 0 retweets 4 likes
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      11. Health Nerd‏Verified account @GidMK 3 Oct 2018

        The problem is largely meta-research issues like publication bias. This is why @senseaboutsci is pushing for publication of ALL research findings

        1 reply 1 retweet 8 likes
        Show this thread
      12. Health Nerd‏Verified account @GidMK 3 Oct 2018

        If you can control which studies get published, and perhaps more importantly which studies get SEEN (big journals, media attention etc), then you can control the narrative about which drugs are best

        1 reply 0 retweets 3 likes
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      13. Health Nerd‏Verified account @GidMK 3 Oct 2018

        (Yes, the answer was 2: publication bias in the poll above)

        1 reply 0 retweets 3 likes
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      14. Health Nerd‏Verified account @GidMK 3 Oct 2018

        If someone says "but this study was funded by industry! That means it's bad!" you can cite the Cochrane or other reviews demonstrating why they are probably wrong

        1 reply 0 retweets 3 likes
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      15. Health Nerd‏Verified account @GidMK 3 Oct 2018

        But when you read about a medical intervention, it's always worth having a look at the non-industry funded studies show, because they are less likely to suffer from publication bias

        1 reply 0 retweets 3 likes
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      16. Health Nerd‏Verified account @GidMK 3 Oct 2018

        And importantly, THIS DOESN'T JUST APPLY TO DRUGS If you compare industry-funded studies of ketogenic diets vs independent research, you see a similar trend

        1 reply 0 retweets 2 likes
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      17. Health Nerd‏Verified account @GidMK 3 Oct 2018

        People who have a stake in the game are just less likely to publish research that might mean they will make less money. They also won't promote it, and may make it more difficult to access for everyone This is, in many ways, much worse than simply doing bad studies

        1 reply 0 retweets 5 likes
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      18. Health Nerd‏Verified account @GidMK 3 Oct 2018

        Bad studies are easy to find, easy to discard, easy to ignore. Most studies I've read on acupuncture, for example, are just awful Can't conclude anything from bad research!

        1 reply 0 retweets 5 likes
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      19. Health Nerd‏Verified account @GidMK 3 Oct 2018

        But by only publishing positive studies, and only promoting the very best ones, industries can manipulate the narrative by using basic statistical fact: Do enough studies and some of them will be VERY positive

        1 reply 1 retweet 8 likes
        Show this thread
      20. Health Nerd‏Verified account @GidMK 3 Oct 2018

        Some of them will be very negative too, but since you can control what gets published, people only see the good and never even hear about the bad

        1 reply 0 retweets 1 like
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      21. Health Nerd‏Verified account @GidMK 3 Oct 2018

        All of this to say: the industry can produce hundreds of amazingly well-done studies and STILL do things in a dodgy way, which is why you should support @senseaboutsci and pre-registration efforts everywhere!

        2 replies 1 retweet 4 likes
        Show this thread
      22. End of conversation

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