The sciences of statistics and systematic analysis applied to the causes of health and disease.
Questions tagged [epidemiology]
56 questions
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Did several countries have very low Coronavirus deaths thanks to inhaled steroids?
A West Texas physician named Richard Bartlett has been making the rounds on social media, claiming that Taiwan, Japan and Iceland have been using inhaled steroids such as budesonide to treat Coronavirus infections, and that it’s the reason Taiwan…
Dan Dascalescu
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Does the CDC over-report annual flu deaths in the U.S.?
This blog post claims that the CDC over-reports annual flu deaths in the U.S. by 1000x or more, in an effort to sell flu vaccinations.
Yet, their own numbers show 500 deaths in 2010, not 36,000.
It goes on further to explain how even the low…
Flimzy
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Do solar cycles influence life expectancy?
In a paper describing the effects of radiation on the human genome at peaks of solar cycles it is claimed:
Those born in peaks of solar cycles lived an average of 1.5 years (CL 1.3-1.7) less than those born in non-peak years. Males were more…
Carlo Alterego
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Was the 2009 swine flu pandemic five times deadlier to children under 18 than COVID-19?
Conservative political analyst, Phil Kerpen recently tweeted
The 2009-10 swine flu was five times deadlier to kids than COVID.
But it didn't hurt boomers, so it didn't stoke an irrational fear/panic that disrupted kids' lives indefinitely.
Was…
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Does wearing spectacles protect you from covid?
Yet another surprising study on things that make a difference to the risk of covid has appeared.
This one claims, to quote the report in LiveScience:
People who wear eyeglasses may be at lower risk for catching COVID-19 than those who don't wear…
matt_black
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Does eating organic food reduce your cancer risk?
CNN (and just about every other news source) report the results of a new study on the effects of eating organic food:
You can protect yourself from cancer by eating organic, a new study suggests. Those who frequently eat organic foods lowered their…
matt_black
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Are blue lights giving people cancer?
A recent article in Gizmodo reports:
Researchers have linked the modern form of LED street lighting to higher rates of breast and prostate cancer, in a grim development that could have repercussions for everything we look at in today's backlit…
matt_black
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Does particulate pollution in outdoor air kill tens of thousands every year?
The effects of particulate pollution have recently been in the news. In the UK the Daily Mail reported:
Toxins emitted by Britain’s booming number of diesel cars are fuelling a health crisis that kills 40,000 people a year, a landmark report warns…
matt_black
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Is Lyme disease a global pandemic?
Avril Lavigne posted a video on Facebook featuring some celebrities talking about Lyme Disease. At the 0:13 mark, American singer/song-writer, Bebe Rexha, claims:
Lyme disease is a global pandemic, but not a global priority.
(1) is also also…
BCLC
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Are the lockdown methods implemented for COVID-19 unprecedented?
The The Great Barrington Declaration and it's FAQ make several claims that fly in the face of our approach to this pandemic. The declaration, when read in it's entirety, states lockdowns are not a part of focused protection, and focused protection…
TCooper
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Does excess salt in food cause thousands of deaths per annum in the UK?
The body responsible for promoting public health in England (prosaically called Public Health England) has faced recent criticism that it it has failed to secure sufficient reductions in the salt added to food.
The Guardian reports that average…
matt_black
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Does more than one unit of alcohol a day damage your long term brain function and increase the risk of dementia?
In a recent article in the The Times bemoaning modern dietary guidelines the author reports new evidence on the affects of alcohol on the brain (my highlights):
To add to the agony, it coincides with research showing that the UK’s alcohol rules are…
matt_black
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What is the *causal* link between smoking and lung cancer?
I have been discussing smoking with a fellow who states that for all the decades of study of the tobacco leaf, still nobody has managed to find what part of the process of smoking the tobacco leaf causes lung cancer. He pointed out that so far most…
DaleJohnston
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Is Lyme Disease endemic in Australia?
The New South Wales state government's Health department has a fact sheet about Lyme disease:
Lyme disease is caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi.
Typical symptoms include fever, headache, fatigue, sore muscles and joints, and a…
Oddthinking
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Did the WHO study show a significant RR of lung cancer, and not a preventative effect?
The WHO released a press release with preliminary finds to the media. After examining the preliminary study, the Telegraph, the Guardian and other newspapers printed articles with headlines like, "Passive Smoke Does't cause cancer -Official"
This…
user1873
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