Consumer Health Digest, Issue #22-26 (original) (raw)

Consumer Health Digest is a free weekly e-mail newsletter edited by William M. London, Ed.D., M.P.H., with help from Stephen Barrett, M.D., It summarizes scientific reports; legislative developments; enforcement actions; other news items; Web site evaluations; recommended and nonrecommended books; research tips; and other information relevant to consumer protection and consumer decision-making. The Digest’s primary focus is on health, but occasionally it includes non-health scams and practical tips. Items posted to this archive may be updated when relevant information becomes available. To subscribe, click here.

Supplements discouraged for preventing cardiovascular disease and cancer. A U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) report is skeptical about using certain dietary supplements to prevent cancer or cardiovascular disease. [Vitamin, mineral, and multivitamin supplementation to prevent cardiovascular disease and cancer: Preventive medication. USPSTF website, June 21, 2022] The report concludes:

• with moderate certainty: (a) the harms of beta carotene supplementation outweigh the benefits, and (b) there is no net benefit of supplementation with vitamin E
• current evidence is insufficient to assess the balance of benefits and harms of the use of multivitamin supplements
• current evidence is insufficient to assess the balance of benefits and harms of the use of other single- or paired-nutrient supplements

The recommendations are applicable to community-dwelling adults who are not pregnant or trying to become pregnant. An editorial commenting on the USPSTF report notes that people find vitamin and mineral supplementation appealing when they: (a) think in terms of good/bad dichotomies and lump supplementation in the good category, (b) don’t consider that what’s beneficial in small doses isn’t necessarily beneficial in larger doses, (c) are biased toward what they perceive as natural, and (d) prefer risking action over inaction. The editorial concludes: “If we want people to stop taking unnecessary vitamins and start receiving lifesaving vaccines, we need to address the psychological (and political) factors that cause people to embrace evidence-incongruent beliefs.” [Ubel PA. Why too many vitamins feels just about right. JAMA Internal Medicine, June 21, 2022]

AMA releases strategy to combat public-health disinformation. A new American Medical Association report proposes a comprehensive strategy to combat disinformation by health professionals who intend to confuse, deceive, or otherwise manipulate the public. The topics addressed include the promotion of unproven COVID-19 treatments, false claims of vaccine side effects, and public-health guidance that is not evidence-based. The report concludes that combating this disinformation, particularly over social media, will require: (a) deprioritizing disinformation in social media algorithms, (b) affirming and empowering the role of reactive fact-checking, and (c) addressing any underlying incentive structure for health professionals spreading health-related disinformation. [AMA adopts new policy aimed at addressing public health disinformation. AMA press release, June 13, 2022] Priorities of the strategy are:

• maintain AMA as a trusted source of evidence-based information for physicians and patients
• ensure evidence-based medical and public-health information is accessible by engaging with publishers, research institutions and media organizations to reduce paywalls to enable access to evidence-based information and analysis
• address disinformation disseminated by health professionals via social media platforms as well as the monetization of spreading this disinformation
• educate health professionals and the public on how to recognize disinformation as well as how it spreads
• consider the role of health-professional societies in serving as appropriate fact-checking entities for health-related information disseminated through various media platforms
• encourage continuing education for health professionals who serve as fact-checkers to help prevent the dissemination of health-related disinformation
• affirm that all speech in which health professionals use their credentials is professional conduct that is subject to discipline by their licensing entity
• enable specialty boards to take action against board certification for health professionals who spread health-related disinformation
• encourage state and local medical societies to engage in dispelling disinformation in their jurisdictions

Abortion restrictions described in U.S. states without explicit bans or protections. A Kaiser Family Foundation report has found that 11 of the 17 U.S. states without explicit laws prohibiting or protecting abortion rights have at least five of these seven abortion restrictions: (a) counseling requirements, (b) waiting periods, (c) ultrasound requirements, (d) parental notification or consent requirements, (e) gestational limits, (f) prohibitions on insurance coverage of abortion, and (g) regulations on facilities or clinicians providing abortion. The report also notes the number of abortion clinics and number of women of reproductive age per clinic in each of those 17 states. [Sobel L and others. Reading the post-Roe tea leaves in states without abortion bans or protections. KFF, June 23, 2022]

Homeopathic dental products criticized. An article describing the promotion of homeopathic products promoted for reducing the need for drugs prescribed by dentists concludes:

There is no published scientific evidence or logical reason to believe that the homeopathic ingredients in StellaLife’s Oral Recovery kit produce any medicinal benefit, “promote oral health,” or “promote a lifetime of good health or well**–**being.” It’s possible that the kit’s non-homeopathic ingredients provide a rinsing or covering action that can lessen post-surgical discomfort. Even if this were so, it would not justify paying $89.70 for any such product.

[Barrett S. Be wary of StellaLife homeopathic dental products. Dental Watch, June 7, 2022]

Adaptogen hype scrutinized. Adaptogens are said to be substances, often plants (such as ginseng and golden root), that help the body adapt to stress with no side effects. A recent article makes these points:

• Their long-term safety has not been demonstrated.
• Regulation of this market is poor.
• Some adaptogenic herbs are known to have potentially serious side effects.
• Evidence for effectiveness usually comes from animal studies and a few published studies in humans that tend to be small and lacking in rigor.

[Jarry J. The problem with adaptogens. McGill Office for Science and Society, June 9, 2022]

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