Background Authorities and sections of the medical profession have supported unethical, coercive, and misinformed policies such as vaccine mandates and vaccine passports, undermining the principles ...of ethical evidence-based medical practice and informed consent. These regrettable actions are a symptom of the 'medical information mess': The tip of a mortality iceberg where prescribed medications are estimated to be the third most common cause of death globally after heart disease and cancer. Aim To identify the major root causes of these public health failures. Methods A narrative review of both current and historical driving factors that underpin the pandemic of medical misinformation. Results Underlying causes for this failure include regulatory capture - guardians that are supposed to protect the public are in fact funded by the corporations that stand to gain from the sale of those medications. A failure of public health messaging has also resulted in wanton waste of resources and a missed opportunity to help individuals lead healthier lives with relatively simple - and low cost - lifestyle changes. Conclusion There is a strong scientific, ethical and moral case to be made that the current COVID vaccine administration must stop until all the raw data has been subjected to fully independent scrutiny. Looking to the future the medical and public health professions must recognise these failings and eschew the tainted dollar of the medical-industrial complex. It will take a lot of time and effort to rebuild trust in these institutions, but the health - of both humanity and the medical profession - depends on it. Contribution This article highlights the importance of addressing metabolic health to reduce chronic disease and that insulin resistance is also a major risk factor for poor outcomes from COVID-19.
Background In response to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), several new pharmaceutical agents have been administered to billions of people worldwide, including the young ...and healthy at little risk from the virus. Considerable leeway has been afforded in terms of the pre-clinical and clinical testing of these agents, despite an entirely novel mechanism of action and concerning biodistribution characteristics. Aim To gain a better understanding of the true benefits and potential harms of the messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) coronavirus disease (COVID) vaccines. Methods A narrative review of the evidence from randomised trials and real world data of the COVID mRNA products with special emphasis on BionTech/Pfizer vaccine. Results In the non-elderly population the "number needed to treat" to prevent a single death runs into the thousands. Re-analysis of randomised controlled trials using the messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) technology suggests a greater risk of serious adverse events from the vaccines than being hospitalised from COVID-19. Pharmacovigilance systems and real-world safety data, coupled with plausible mechanisms of harm, are deeply concerning, especially in relation to cardiovascular safety. Mirroring a potential signal from the Pfizer Phase 3 trial, a significant rise in cardiac arrest calls to ambulances in England was seen in 2021, with similar data emerging from Israel in the 16-39-year-old age group. Conclusion It cannot be said that the consent to receive these agents was fully informed, as is required ethically and legally. A pause and reappraisal of global vaccination policies for COVID-19 is long overdue. Contribution This article highlights the importance of addressing metabolic health to reduce chronic disease and that insulin resistance is also a major risk factor for poor outcomes from COVID-19.
ObjectiveIt is well known that total cholesterol becomes less of a risk factor or not at all for all-cause and cardiovascular (CV) mortality with increasing age, but as little is known as to whether ...low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), one component of total cholesterol, is associated with mortality in the elderly, we decided to investigate this issue.Setting, participants and outcome measuresWe sought PubMed for cohort studies, where LDL-C had been investigated as a risk factor for all-cause and/or CV mortality in individuals ≥60 years from the general population.ResultsWe identified 19 cohort studies including 30 cohorts with a total of 68 094 elderly people, where all-cause mortality was recorded in 28 cohorts and CV mortality in 9 cohorts. Inverse association between all-cause mortality and LDL-C was seen in 16 cohorts (in 14 with statistical significance) representing 92% of the number of participants, where this association was recorded. In the rest, no association was found. In two cohorts, CV mortality was highest in the lowest LDL-C quartile and with statistical significance; in seven cohorts, no association was found.ConclusionsHigh LDL-C is inversely associated with mortality in most people over 60 years. This finding is inconsistent with the cholesterol hypothesis (ie, that cholesterol, particularly LDL-C, is inherently atherogenic). Since elderly people with high LDL-C live as long or longer than those with low LDL-C, our analysis provides reason to question the validity of the cholesterol hypothesis. Moreover, our study provides the rationale for a re-evaluation of guidelines recommending pharmacological reduction of LDL-C in the elderly as a component of cardiovascular disease prevention strategies.
The paradoxical rise in overall and cancer-specific mortality despite increased detection and treatment of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is termed "treatment disconnect." We reassess this phenomenon by ...evaluating impact of missing data and rising incidence on mortality trends.
Using Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results data, we identified patients with RCC diagnosis from 1973 to 2011. We estimated mortality rates by tumor size after accounting for lags from diagnosis to death using multiple imputations for missing data from 1983. Mortality rates were estimated irrespective of tumor size after adjustment for prior cumulative incidence using ridge regression.
A total of 78,891 patients met inclusion criteria. Of 70,212 patients diagnosed since 1983, 10.4% had missing data. Significant attenuation in cancer-specific mortality was noted from 1983 to 2011 when comparing observed with imputed rates: Δobs0.05 versus Δimp0.10 (P=0.001, <2 cm tumors); Δobs0.29 versus Δimp0.18 (P=0.005, 2-4 cm tumors); Δobs0.46 versus Δimp-0.20 (P<0.001, 4-7 cm tumors); Δobs0.93 versus Δimp-0.15 (P<0.001, >7 cm tumors). Holding incidence of RCC constant to 2011 rates, temporal increase in overall mortality for all patients was attenuated (P<0.001) when comparing observed estimates (3.9-6.8) with 2011 adjusted estimates (5.9-7.1), suggesting that rapidly rising incidence may influence reported overall mortality trends. These findings were supported by assessment of mortality to incidence ratio trends.
Missing data and rising incidence may contribute substantially to the "treatment disconnect" phenomenon when examining mortality rates in RCC using tumor registry data. Caution is advised when basing clinical and policy decisions on these data.
In January 2018, the Australian Medical Association called for a tax on sugary drinks to be introduced as a priority. The Association’s president, Michael Gannon, likened the task ahead to taking on ...Big Tobacco. Here, we highlight the totality of evidence supporting a sugar tax. We also point out similarities of the tactics used by both Big Food and Big Tobacco to curb effective regulatory measures to curb obesity and diet-related metabolic disease. In fact, Big Tobacco adopted some of its methods from Big Sugar decades ago.
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