Junk Science at JAMA
A recent prospective study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association suggested that exposure to perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) — chemicals commonly found in non-stick pans and food packaging — reduces immune responses to tetanus and diphtheria vaccinations among children aged 5 to 7 years old. But before you start worrying about protecting your children from these supposedly dangerous chemicals, it’s important to note that the research, led by Dr. Phillippe Grandjean of the Harvard School of Public Health, not only involved major flaws, but also reeks of junk science. Yet the study’s shortcomings aren’t even the most upsetting part of this story. What peeved us more was the fact that a reputable journal such as JAMA would even publish such nonsense.
More on this study in an ACSH’s article.
I’m sure there is a lot of junk science at all the medical journals.
About half of scientific breakthroughs cannot be reproduced when other teams attempt to replicate them. There are a lot of problems with the science published in medical journals.
There may be some junk in there, but more research needs to be done some of these chemicals, such as PFCs.
How much tetanus and diptheria are we seeing in vaccinated kids aged 5 to 7 in the United States since the introduction of said chemical? Not much, it seems. Probably should be worrying about the effects of being out in thunderstorms or something.
For the record, CDC says there hasn’t been a confirmed case of diptheria in the U.S. since 2003. CDC has this to say about tetanus:
Reported tetanus cases have declined >95 percent and deaths from tetanus have declined >99 percent in the United States since 1947. CDC analyzed tetanus cases reported to the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System (NNDSS) during 2001–2008. The results show that 233 cases were reported during 2001–2008. The case-fatality rate was 13.2 percent among the 197 cases with known outcomes. Case fatality was higher among persons >65 years, diabetics, and among unvaccinated persons or those not up-to-date with vaccination. Tetanus is a vaccine preventable disease. Health-care providers should ensure up-to-date TT vaccination of all their patients, especially persons aged ≥65 years, and diabetics.
Never underestimate the capacity of new parents to overreact to health concerns for children.