February 01, 2005

Where the naproxen story went wrong

Back on December 21, 2004 on this site, I questioned the government and news reports about the risks attributed to naproxen in a trial that was stopped.

In today's Washington Post, Dartmouth and VA researchers Steve Woloshin, Lisa Schwartz and Gil Welch submit a thoughtful review reaching the same conclusion. Many journalists, the FDA and the NIH overstated the evidence against naproxen. The authors conclude, "It was too soon to frighten the public."

This is a terribly important issue for journalists and for the public to understand.
Woloshin, Schwartz and Welch did a great public service by explaining it better than the government and most journalists.

Posted by schwitz at February 1, 2005 10:23 AM
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