Epidemiological Study Designs in the Media Article Analysis

EPIDEMIOLOGICAL STUDY DESIGNS IN THE MEDIA

Epidemiological Study Designs in the Media

The mass media article that I came across is titled, Less than 7% of Americans Have Good Heart Health – with Minorities and Less Educated People Suffering the Most, Study Finds. The article appeared on Daily Mail and was published on the 4th of July 2022. The peer-reviewed article cited in the mass media source is titled, Trends and Disparities in Cardiometabolic Health among U.S. Adults, 1999-2018. This particular peer-reviewed article was published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. The authors of the study make a finding to the effect that the cardiometabolic health of American adults has been on the downward trend over the last two decades. Indeed, as the authors further indicate, a whopping 93.2% of American adults have poor cardiometabolic health. The article also highlights the various disparities that exist on this front.

There are a number of epidemiological concepts that have been highlighted in the article. One such concept happens to be the identification of the various principles of epidemiology. The said principles have been identified in the headline and the summary/brief section after the headline. These are what (cardiometabolic health), who (adults), where (the U.S.), when (1999-2018), and how (rising prevalence of obesity and diabetes). According to Curley (2020), “epidemiologists tend to use synonyms for the 5 W's: diagnosis or health event (what), person (who), place (where), time (when), and causes, risk factors, and modes of transmission (why/how)” (192). The other epidemiological concept included in the mass media article is the sample size (an aspect of study design). The authors of the mass media article indicate that a total of 55,000 U.S. adults were assessed within a 10 year period.

Close analysis of both the mass media article and the study indicates that the authors of the mass media article have made attempts to ensure that various aspects of the actual research are accurately represented. However, there is useful info/data that has been left out and/or somewhat amplified. To begin with, there is generalization and rounding off of figures. For instance, whereas the study indicates that only 6.8 percent of U.S. adults could be deemed healthy from a cardiomatabolic standpoint, the authors of the article present this as 7 percent. This is perhaps done with the intention of helping the reader to recall certain aspects of the findings. Next, it is also important to note that some of the disparities highlighted in the study (i.e. sex and age) have been omitted in the mass media article. Instead, the authors of the mass media article opt to focus on disparities in terms of education level and race. The implications of the study findings are also not adequately addressed in the mass media article.

If a patient were to seek my assistance in interpreting the article, I would start by defining the keywords, i.e. cardiometabolic health. I would then proceed to break down the study findings in the simplest terms possible. Instead of citing figures and percentages, I would seek ways of presenting the said info in an easy to understand and relatable format. For instance, instead of saying that 93.2% of American adults have poor cardiometabolic health, I could indicate that approximately 9 out of 10 people have poor cardiometabolic health. Lastly, I would then seek to explain the implications of the study findings in layman terms, and explain how the patient is impacted at the personal level, as well as the possible interventions he could deploy to avert adverse health outcomes at the individual and/or familial level. For instance, what are some of the dietary and behavioral adaptations the patient could make to optimize his cardiometabolic health?