Okay, so it’s not about kids, but their parents, well, mothers mostly…
Hurrah to Gary Taubes for his refreshingly thorough discussion of health research in the New York Times Magazine. In Unhealthy Science he takes on the issue of women’s health, in particular, the use of hormones in menopausal and post-menopausal women. Does estrogen-replacement harm or protect women? Which women might benefit from it? Which might be harmed? Do we really know? And yes, though he focuses on women’s health, I highly recommend this read if you’re interested in learning more about the pitfalls (and some successes) of studying real-world health issues – in other words, epidemiological research. Course it’s also a fascinating and telling story about how the media (along with medical professionals) misinterpret research findings.
Read Gary Taube’s responses to readers questions here. Or listen to him speak about Unhealthy Science on Day to Day with Madeleine Brand or on the Brian Lehrer Show on NPR