How to Read News About Medical Research: Ten Questions to Ask

Nearly every day, new medical research is published in scientific journals — and often turns into news stories. It can help you manage your health, but it isn't always easy to know what a finding means for you:

• a story may not explain how one study fits into the bigger picture;
• studies can seem to disagree because they had different designs or asked different questions — which stories often don't explain;
• some studies are very small and need to be confirmed, which stories may not mention.

So think carefully when you read or hear about new findings. These questions help you evaluate the information:

Ten questions

1. Animals or humans? A result in animals may not hold in people.
2. People like you? Were participants similar to you in ways that matter, such as age, race or sex?
3. How big? Larger studies tend to give more reliable results.
4. How long? A medicine study needs to run long enough to show long-term benefits or risks.
5. What kind of study? Clinical trials — especially randomized controlled trials, where people are randomly assigned to groups getting different treatments to prevent bias — give the clearest evidence of whether a treatment is safe and effective.
6. Where was the research done?
7. Side effects? If a treatment was tested, what were they, and how common?
8. Compared with earlier studies? If the results differ, more studies are needed to confirm them.
9. Who paid? Funders may profit if a study gets certain results.
10. Who is reporting it? Could they have a bias?

Stay curious — and skeptical

Keeping up with medical findings can help you. But bring some skepticism, and keep these questions in mind the next time you hear about a big breakthrough.

Sources

Based on "Understanding Medical Research," MedlinePlus, U.S. National Library of Medicine; a work of the United States government in the public domain.