Science by Press Release: Responding to Media Coverage of Epidemiological Studies

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Science by Press ReleaseResponding to Media
Coverage of Epidemiological Studies

• Presented by
• Rick McCarty
• VP Issues Analysis Strategy
• National Cattlemens Beef Association

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February 2009 World Cancer Research
FundAmerican Institute of Cancer Research
Recommends individuals consume no more than
18 ounces of red meat per week and especially
limit consumption of processed meat
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Just a few weeks later (coincidence????)
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National Cancer Institute Study Released
Arch. Intern. Med. (200916916) 562-571
An epidemiological study
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What is an Epidemiological Study?

• Epi studies
• Look at populations to investigate potential
  associations between aspects of health and diet,
  lifestyle, genetics or other factors.
• Are observational in nature and the outcomes
  need further study through other types of
  research such as clinical trials to be confirmed.

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Epi Study Limitations

• Only draw associations for further research and
  do not establish cause and effect.
• Nobody (especially the media) seems to
  understand this.
• Difficult to control for all confounding
  variables associations found may be spurious.
• Nutritional epidemiology is further complicated
  by poor methods for assessing dietary intake.

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Type of Epidemiological Study
Meat Mortality Study Prospective Cohort
Follows a group of individuals over time who do
not yet have a disease and collects information
regarding diet and other factors that may be
related to the development of the disease.
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Meat Mortality Study Limitations

• Participants didnt actually measure the amount
  of food they ate.
• Intake of foods was assessed only once at the
  beginning of the 10-year study.
• Did not address effect of eating meat when
  consumed at recommended intake levels in a
  balanced diet along with maintaining a proper
  body weight and adequate exercise.
• The increases in risk did not reach levels that
  would make most epidemiologists take notice a
  relative risk of
• 2 (a 100 increase) or greater.
• Studied a relatively old age cohort 50 to 71
  years of age that is likely to have higher
  mortality anyway.

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The News Process

• Research organization or journal issues an
  embargoed press release, usually with a
  provocative headline.
• Embargo (and headline) assures wide media
  attention and that stories will appear all at
  once.
• Beef industry uses 3rd-party experts to vet the
  study and assist in developing response. Some
  media call for interviews.
• When the embargo was lifted, beef industry team
  proactively posted a media statement on the
  newswire distributed to top national media.
• The statement resulted in a number of
  interviews as well as beef industry statements in
  the news stories.

Eating red and processed meat associated with
increased risk of death National Cancer
Institute
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Beef Industry Principles
We will provide factual, scientifically supported
information about beef to help consumers make
informed choices about what they eat.
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Study Conclusion
So. What Does Modest Mean?
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Headlines, Headlines, Headlines
Eating Red Meat May Boost Death Risk WebMD
Study Links Red Meat To Cancer, Heart Disease NPR
Want to live longer? Cut back on red meat CNN
Red and processed meat intakes were associated
with modest increases in total mortality, cancer
mortality and cardiovascular disease mortality.
Eating Too Much Red Meat May Shorten Life ABC News
Study Finds Eating Red Meat Contributes to Risk
of Early Death Washington Post
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Study Statistics Red Meat
Adjusted RR 1.22 (less than 2.0)
Adjusted RR 1.26
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Study Statistics White Meat
Adjusted RR .85 (less than 1.0)
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Percent of Consumers Who Heard About Diet
Chronic Disease Following Study Release
April 5, 2009

• 10 of total respondents mentioned hearing
  something about red meat and heart disease
• No mentions of red meat and cancer

Q In the past month, have you seen, heard or
read anything in the news about certain food
causing chronic disease like heart disease or
cancer?
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Some Things to Remember

• Epi studies do not show causation
• Many published studies show weak associations
  (RR lt 2)
• Assessment of food intake often is unreliable
• Other analyses do not show associations of red
  meat and chronic disease that WCRF found
• In the U.S., the beef checkoff funded an
  independent analysis looking at the same data as
  WCRF and did not conclude that red meat was
  causally associated with cancer.
• Papers from that analysis are now being
  published and demonstrate neutral non-causal
  relative risks.
• WCRF conclusions have been challenged in
  commentaries published in peer-reviewed journals,
  significant errors and omissions have been
  identified, WCRF has acknowledged errors.

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A Web Site to Remember
WWW.ACSH.ORG Search for Distinguishing
Association
Distinguishing Association from Causation A
Backgrounder for Journalists The American
Council on Science Health
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The End