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Quality of information in the magazine - or lack of it
nicegirl99 posted:
I enjoy reading WebMD in my doctor's office, but I don't take it very seriously. I think of it more as the "People" magazine version of health publications.
Why is that the case? It's because nearly every time I read an issue I find at least one incorrect piece of information or a nonsensical statement. Most of the time I just shut the magazine and forget about it, but recently I decided to bring up the subject.
Following two couple of examples that popped out at me when I browsed the January/February issue. I didn't read the rest of the magazine.
1. The article "Your Top Snooze Q's" contained the following sentence: "There's even data to show that people who sleep more than 10 hours or less than 5 hours in each 24 hour period have double the mortality rate."
What does this sentence mean? We all die once and only once, therefore we have a 100% mortality rate. So how could anyone's mortality rate be doubled? This is bad writing, bad logic, and bad editing.
If the sentence said "In a 20 year study at XXX university which followed 5000 subjects who were age 40-45 at the beginning of the study, those participants who slept more than 10 hours or less than 5 hours in each 24 hour period were twice as likely to die during the course of the study than the rest of the participants in the study" and also had a link to the published article, then I'd be more likely to take it seriously. In an age where the quality of medical research is being called into question, articles such as "Your Top Snooze Q's" exacerbate the problem with poor reporting of research findings.
2. The article "Late Bloomer" states that "Your makeup grinds into your skin all night, causing breakouts and even stretching out pores, which makes your skin look older."
Most of us know by now that "pores" are "clogged" and made to appear larger by sebum produced from the inside, not from anything that is applied topically, so why would webmd magazine publish this type of statement?
Why doesn't WebMD do a better job of reviewing and editing prior to publishing?
Why is that the case? It's because nearly every time I read an issue I find at least one incorrect piece of information or a nonsensical statement. Most of the time I just shut the magazine and forget about it, but recently I decided to bring up the subject.
Following two couple of examples that popped out at me when I browsed the January/February issue. I didn't read the rest of the magazine.
1. The article "Your Top Snooze Q's" contained the following sentence: "There's even data to show that people who sleep more than 10 hours or less than 5 hours in each 24 hour period have double the mortality rate."
What does this sentence mean? We all die once and only once, therefore we have a 100% mortality rate. So how could anyone's mortality rate be doubled? This is bad writing, bad logic, and bad editing.
If the sentence said "In a 20 year study at XXX university which followed 5000 subjects who were age 40-45 at the beginning of the study, those participants who slept more than 10 hours or less than 5 hours in each 24 hour period were twice as likely to die during the course of the study than the rest of the participants in the study" and also had a link to the published article, then I'd be more likely to take it seriously. In an age where the quality of medical research is being called into question, articles such as "Your Top Snooze Q's" exacerbate the problem with poor reporting of research findings.
2. The article "Late Bloomer" states that "Your makeup grinds into your skin all night, causing breakouts and even stretching out pores, which makes your skin look older."
Most of us know by now that "pores" are "clogged" and made to appear larger by sebum produced from the inside, not from anything that is applied topically, so why would webmd magazine publish this type of statement?
Why doesn't WebMD do a better job of reviewing and editing prior to publishing?
1 Replies |Watch This Discussion | Report This| Share this:Quality of information in the magazine - or lack of itI enjoy reading WebMD in my doctor's office, but I don't take it very seriously. I think of it more as the "People" magazine version of health publications.<br /> <br />Why is that the case? It's because nearly every time I read an issue I find at least one incorrect piece of information or a nonsensical statement. Most of the time I just shut the magazine and forget about it, but recently I decided to bring up the subject.<br /> <br />Following two couple of examples that popped out at me when I browsed the January/February issue. I didn't read the rest of the magazine.<br /> <br />1. The article "Your Top Snooze Q's" contained the following sentence: "There's even data to show that people who sleep more than 10 hours or less than 5 hours in each 24 hour period have double the mortality rate."<br />What does this sentence mean? We all die once and only once, therefore we have a 100% mortality rate. So how could anyone's mortality rate be doubled? This is bad writing, bad logic, and bad editing.<br /> <br />If the sentence said "In a 20 year study at XXX university which followed 5000 subjects who were age 40-45 at the beginning of the study, those participants who slept more than 10 hours or less than 5 hours in each 24 hour period were twice as likely to die during the course of the study than the rest of the participants in the study" and also had a link to the published article, then I'd be more likely to take it seriously. In an age where the quality of medical research is being called into question, articles such as "Your Top Snooze Q's" exacerbate the problem with poor reporting of research findings.<br /> <br />2. The article "Late Bloomer" states that "Your makeup grinds into your skin all night, causing breakouts and even stretching out pores, which makes your skin look older." <br /> <br />Most of us know by now that "pores" are "clogged" and made to appear larger by sebum produced from the inside, not from anything that is applied topically, so why would webmd magazine publish this type of statement?<br /> <br />Why doesn't WebMD do a better job of reviewing and editing prior to publishing?
Colleen Paretty responded:
Thanks for your comments. Always good to get this sort of feedback. Regarding the sleep story, that was an interview with our expert Dr Michael Breus, who was generally referring to several studies that point to a link between hours slept and mortality. You're right, we did not cite any particular studies in the article and could have; in the online version, we list sources in the source box at the end: http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/features/top-snooze-qs?page=2 . I asked Dr Breus to clarify; he says he knows of a few studies with this outcome but had this 2007 study from the University of Warwick particularly in mind, which shows double the risk of mortality from getting too much and too little sleep:
http://www.physorg.com/news109847892.html
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2276139/
As for the skin article, I circled back to the writer, her expert for the story, Dr. Lisa Ginn, and the medical reviewer, Dr Karyn Grossman. Dr Ginn says, "The simple answer is that although sebum and inflammation originate from in the skin, make-up left on the face can occlude the skin, making a barrier that causes excess oil and bacteria to accumulate within the pores. The result is enlarged pores from build-up of excess skin and oil along with inflammation." Dr. Grossman adds: "Sleeping with oil-based makeup can cause breakouts and clog pores."
In that short, tippy sort of article, we didn't get into how the pores clog (whether from under the skin or from the top down) or expand, though, again, we could have added more detail about how that happens.
Bottom line: We aim for clarity, and it's a good reminder to the writers and editors at WebMD the Magazine to keep an eye on ways we can explain not just the what but also the how and the why about a medical fact — since it's not always clear to simply state the "what" and leave it at that.
Thanks again.
http://www.physorg.com/news109847892.html
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2276139/
As for the skin article, I circled back to the writer, her expert for the story, Dr. Lisa Ginn, and the medical reviewer, Dr Karyn Grossman. Dr Ginn says, "The simple answer is that although sebum and inflammation originate from in the skin, make-up left on the face can occlude the skin, making a barrier that causes excess oil and bacteria to accumulate within the pores. The result is enlarged pores from build-up of excess skin and oil along with inflammation." Dr. Grossman adds: "Sleeping with oil-based makeup can cause breakouts and clog pores."
In that short, tippy sort of article, we didn't get into how the pores clog (whether from under the skin or from the top down) or expand, though, again, we could have added more detail about how that happens.
Bottom line: We aim for clarity, and it's a good reminder to the writers and editors at WebMD the Magazine to keep an eye on ways we can explain not just the what but also the how and the why about a medical fact — since it's not always clear to simply state the "what" and leave it at that.
Thanks again.
Report This| Share this:Quality of information in the magazine - or lack of itThanks for your comments. Always good to get this sort of feedback. Regarding the sleep story, that was an interview with our expert Dr Michael Breus, who was generally referring to several studies that point to a link between hours slept and mortality. You're right, we did not cite any particular studies in the article and could have; in the online version, we list sources in the source box at the end: <a href="http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/features/top-snooze-qs?page=2">http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/features/top-snooze-qs?page=2</a> . I asked Dr Breus to clarify; he says he knows of a few studies with this outcome but had this 2007 study from the University of Warwick particularly in mind, which shows double the risk of mortality from getting too much and too little sleep:<br /><a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.physorg.com/news109847892.html">http://www.physorg.com/news109847892.html</a> <br /><a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2276139/">http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2276139/</a> <br /> <br />As for the skin article, I circled back to the writer, her expert for the story, Dr. Lisa Ginn, and the medical reviewer, Dr Karyn Grossman. Dr Ginn says, "The simple answer is that although sebum and inflammation originate from in the skin, make-up left on the face can occlude the skin, making a barrier that causes excess oil and bacteria to accumulate within the pores. The result is enlarged pores from build-up of excess skin and oil along with inflammation." Dr. Grossman adds: "Sleeping with oil-based makeup can cause breakouts and clog pores." <br />In that short, tippy sort of article, we didn't get into how the pores clog (whether from under the skin or from the top down) or expand, though, again, we could have added more detail about how that happens. <br />Bottom line: We aim for clarity, and it's a good reminder to the writers and editors at WebMD the Magazine to keep an eye on ways we can explain not just the what but also the <i>how</i> and the <i>why</i> about a medical fact — since it's not always clear to simply state the "what" and leave it at that.<br /> <br />Thanks again.
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