All tests ‘(…) do harm; some do good as well, and, of these, some do more good than harm at reasonable cost.’ - Muir Gray and Angela Raffle. Medical tests are widely and increasingly marketed directly to consumers via traditional and social media. Such tests may [...]
The anti-Mullerian hormone (AMH) can be measured by a blood test and gives an indication of the number of oocytes in the ovaries, but not of oocyte quality . Whilst the test is helpful in assisted reproduction as it roughly indicates the potential number of [...]
The delivery of modern healthcare is inadvertently exacerbating illness and injury to populations through its own pollution. The global healthcare sector—health services and its medical supply chain—is responsible for approximately 5% of global net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (>2 gigatons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e)) [...]
Climate change threatens human health and increases demand for healthcare. Global temperature is rising in near linear relationship with increasing carbon dioxide (CO2) in Earth’s atmosphere, bringing hotter and more extreme weather. Health consequences include direct injuries, deaths and illness, and indirect effects such as [...]
There is little evidence on the balance between potential benefits and harms of mammography screening in women 75 years and older. The aim of this systematic review was to synthesise the evidence on the outcomes of mammography screening in women aged 75 years and older.
To our knowledge, this is the first methodological review of studies concerned with overdiagnosis in noncancer conditions. We identified 132 studies identifying or quantifying overdiagnosis of a wide range of noncancer conditions. We applied a novel framework that uses the concept of ‘‘Fair Umpires’’ to [...]
At 38, Carla Loughnane was told she had so few eggs she was near menopause and didn't need birth control. Within six months, she was pregnant. Her twin girls were not yet two years old. This "miracle" baby was a joy, but made her doubt years [...]
Corporations have used feminist language to promote their products for decades. In the 1980s, companies co-opted messaging about female autonomy to encourage women’s consumption of unhealthy commodities, such as tobacco and alcohol. Today, feminist narratives around empowerment and women’s rights are being co-opted to market interventions [...]
Good for business but bad for women. In her 2021 book Unwell Women,1 the feminist historian Elinor Cleghorn charts the long and troubling story of medicine’s approach to women, their bodies, and their illnesses. From Plato’s description of “vexed and aggrieved” wombs that wandered throughout the body [...]
Promotion of non-evidence based tests and treatments using empowerment messages risks women being overdiagnosed and overtreated, argue Tessa Copp and colleagues. Commercial organisations have an extraordinary influence on population health through how they engage with and shape social movements to market their products.1 Corporations have historically exploited [...]