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Introduction
A recent article titled “Avoiding Endocrine Disruptors Drops Diabetes Risk: Study” appeared on The Scientist Magazine on 27th October, 2016 (Grens, 2016). It reports the findings of an epidemiological study carried out by Transade et al. (2016). The study is titled “Population Attributable Risks and Costs of Diabetogenic Chemical Exposure in the Elderly”. The study by Transade et al. (2016) was published on 27th October, 2016, in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. In this paper, the author will provide a comparative analysis of the two articles.
A Summary of the Study
The article featured in The Scientist reports that Transade et al. (2016) found that a reduction in the levels of exposure to environmental chemicals, such as plastic additives and pesticides, lowers the prevalence of diabetes among the elderly. According to Transade et al. (2016), if the rate of exposure is reduced by 25%, the prevalence of diabetes among the target group would reduce by 13%. The study was conducted among the elderly in Sweden (Trasande et al., 2016). The research found that a reduction in exposure to each of these compounds reduced by 25% (Grens, 2016). A reduction in exposure to all the four compounds led to a reduction of 13% in the prevalence of diabetes (Trasande et al., 2016).
Epidemiological Concepts in the Mass Media Article
Grens (2016) makes reference to the study design of the original research. According to Grens (2016), the study used a cohort of 1000 elderly Swedes. Their blood was sampled with the aim of estimating the level of exposure to some particular chemicals, such as phthalates and polychlorinated biphenyl.
Obvious Omissions
The article by Grens (2016) fails to address most of the parameters used by Transade et al. (2016). Grens (2016) addresses the issue of cohort methodology. However, the article does not mention any other significant discussions on epidemiology or research design. In addition, it fails to highlight the models used in the original epidemiological study. The models are significant to epidemiologists because they explain the framework of the study (Elm et al., 2014).
The mass media article acknowledges that the residual confounding factors could have been caused by an overestimation of the compound exposures studied. The researchers also observe that the Population Attributable Fractions may not apply to the older population since most of the compounds are banned in many countries (Vandenbroucke et al., 2014). The study recommends that people should be encouraged to avoid the harmful chemicals. The importance of providing a recommendation is supported by Szklo and Nieto (2014).
Assessment of the Article
The news media article focuses on two components of the study. The two are the effects of the compounds and the associated costs of managing diabetes. The larger part of the study may not be of interest to the author of the article (Vandenbroucke et al., 2014). However, the article provides a direct link to the study.
Conclusion
The mass media article reports the findings made in the original epidemiological study. It addresses most of the components of the original research. However, it ignores most of the components of the article in the peer-reviewed journal.
References
Elm, E., Altman, D., Egger, M., Pocock, S., Gotzsche, P., & Vandenbroucke, J. (2014). The strengthening the reporting of observational studies in epidemiology (STROBE) statement: Guidelines for reporting observational studies, International Journal of Surgery, 12(12), 1495-1499.
Grens, K. (2016). Avoiding endocrine disruptors drops diabetes risk: Study. Web.
Szklo, M., & Nieto, F. (2014). Epidemiology: Beyond the basics (3rd ed). Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett.
Trasande, L., Lampa, E., Lind, L., & Lind, M. (2016). Population attributable risks and costs of diabetogenic chemical exposures in the elderly. Journal of Epidemiology Community Health, 1-4.
Vandenbroucke, J., Elm, E., Altman, D., Gotzsche, P., Mulrow, C., Pocock, S.,…Egger, M. (2014). Strengthening the reporting of observational studies in epidemiology (STROBE): Explanation and elaboration, International Journal of Surgery, 12(12), 1500-1524.
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