Understanding Medical Research

Almost every day, new findings from medical research are published in scientific journals. These journal articles often become sources for news stories. They can be important tools in helping you manage your health. But it's not always easy to understand them and know what they mean for your life. For example:

• What you hear about a study may not explain how it fits into the bigger picture.
• Sometimes the results of one study seem to disagree with the results of another study. That could be because the studies could have different designs and asked different questions. The news stories don't always explain this.
• Sometimes the studies are very small, and researchers need to do more studies to confirm the results. But the news stories about these small studies may not highlight this.

So it's important to think carefully when reading or listening to reports of new medical findings. Here are some questions that can help you evaluate that information:

• Was the study in animals or humans? Getting certain results in animals may not mean that you get those same results in humans.
• Were the people in the study similar to you in ways that may matter, such as age, race, or sex?
• How big was the study? Larger studies may get more reliable results than smaller studies.
• How long did the study last? For example, studies testing medicines need to be long enough to show long-term benefits or risks.
• What kind of study was it? Clinical trials, especially randomized controlled trials, give the clearest information about whether a treatment is effective and safe in humans. In randomized controlled trials, the people in the study are randomly divided into separate groups that get different treatments. This helps prevent bias in the results.
• Where was the research done?
• If a new treatment was being tested, what were the side effects? How common were they?
• How do the results from the study compare with previous studies? If the new study had different results, then more studies would be needed to confirm these results.
• Who paid for the research? Sometimes the people paying for the research could profit financially if the study gets certain results.
• Who is reporting the results? Do they have a certain bias?

It can be helpful to stay informed about new medical findings. But it's good to have some skepticism. Keep these questions in mind the next time you hear about a big new medical breakthrough.

Questions for your care team

General prompts to help prepare for your appointment.

• How does this information apply to my situation?
• Which symptoms or results need evaluation?
• Which tests are useful, and what can they tell us?
• What care options, benefits, and risks should we discuss?
• When should I seek urgent help, and whom should I call?
• When is follow-up, and how will we know whether the plan is working?