Ben Goldacre Handout - Epidemiology is the science

Response to Ben Goldacre Handout

1. “Epidemiology is the science of how we know if something is good for you or bad for you” Based on what you know about epidemiology, how would you change / amend this definition?

2. “Your risk of getting breast cancer after drinking red wine…” What effect estimate is her referring to in this sentence?

3. When he says we need to take a “snapshot in time”, what type of study design is he referring to?

4. When he talks about getting everyone in the maternity ward, following them forward in time to seen who develops wrinkles, what type of study design is he referring to?

5. “Rigged by design” refers to which? Systematic or random error

6. He states that conducting trials against placebo when we have a legitimate treatment is unethical. Agree or disagree and why

7. In your own words, describe publication bias:

8. Why would industry withhold the results of clinical trials?

9. How is publication bias an ethical issue?