The quality of media reports on discoveries related to human genetic diseases

Community Genetics

Volumn 8, Issue 3, 2005, Pages 133-144

  Holtzman, Neil A ^a,d   Bernhardt, Barbara A ^a,c   Mountcastle Shah, Eliza ^a   Rodgers, Joann E ^a   Tambor, Ellen ^a   Geller, Gail ^a,b  

^a DEPARTMENT OF PATHOLOGY   (United States)

^b JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY   (United States)

^c UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA   (United States)

^d NONE   (United States)

Author keywords

Genetic discoveries; Genetic diseases; Mass media; Science reporting

Indexed keywords

ACCURACY; ARTICLE; EXPERT WITNESS; GENE; GENETIC DISORDER; HUMAN GENETICS; LANGUAGE; MASS COMMUNICATION; PRIORITY JOURNAL; PUBLICATION; PUBLISHING; QUALITY CONTROL; RARE DISEASE; RISK; SCIENTIFIC LITERATURE; TELECOMMUNICATION; TELEVISION; UNITED STATES;

ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE; DATABASES, FACTUAL; GENETIC DISEASES, INBORN; HUMANS; MASS MEDIA; NEOPLASMS; NEWSPAPERS; RADIO; REGRESSION ANALYSIS; REPRODUCIBILITY OF RESULTS; TELEVISION;

EID: 16444384159     PISSN: 14222795     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1159/000086756     Document Type: Article

References (65)

1. Roper Starch Worldwide: Americans talk about science and medical news. The National Health Council Report 1997.
2. Tambor ES, Bernhardt BA, Rodgers J, Holtzman NA, Geller G: Mapping the human genome: An assessment of media coverage and public reaction. Gen Med 2002;4:31-36.
3. Smart A: Reporting the dawn of the post-genomic era: Who wants to live forever? Sociol Health Illn 2003;25:24-49.
4. Conrad P: Genetics and behavior in the news: Dilemmas of a rising paradigm; in Alper JS, Asch A, Beckwith J, Conrad P, Geller LN (eds): The Double-Edged Helix: Social Implications of Genetics in a Diverse Society. Baltimore, Johns Hopkins University Press, 2002 pp 58-79.
5. Birch DM: Altered gene said to cause colon cancer. Baltimore Sun, Aug 26, 1997; Sect A, Carroll County, p 1.
6. Bor J: Ashkenazi Jews weather news of another gene flaw: 250 callers seek facts on colon cancer link. Baltimore Sun, Sept 1, 1997; Sect B, p 1.
7. Geller G, Tambor ES, Bernhardt BA, Rodgers J, Holtzman NA: Houseofficers' reaction to media coverage about the sequencing of the human genome. Soc Sci Med 2003.
8. Geller G, Bernhardt BA, Holtzman NA: The media and public reaction to genetic research. JAMA 2002;287:773.
9. Grilli R, Ramsay C, Minozzi S: Mass media interventions: Effects on health services utilisation. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2002;CD000389.
10. Brunt ME, Murray MD, Hui SL, Kesterson J, Perkins AJ, Tierney WM: Mass media release of medical research results: An analysis of antihypertensive drug prescribing in the aftermath of the calcium channel blocker scare of March 1995. J Gen Intern Med 2003;18:84-94.
11. Phillips DP, Kanter EJ, Bednarczyk B, Tastad PL: Importance of the lay press in the transmission of medical knowledge to the scientific community. N Engl J Med 1991;325:1180-1183.
12. Mountcastle-Shah E, Tambor E, Bernhardt BA, Geller G, Karaliukas R, Rodgers JE, et al: Assessing mass media reporting of disease-related genetic discoveries. Sci Commun 2003;24:458-478.
13. Miki Y, Swenson J, Shattuck-Eidens D, Futreal PA, Harshman K, Tavtigian S, et al: A strong candidate for the breast and ovarian cancer susceptibility gene BRCA1. Science 1994;266:66-71.
14. Smith JR, Freije D, Carpten JD, Grönberg H, Xu J, Isaacs SD, et al: Major susceptibility locus for prostate cancer on chromosome 1 suggested by a genome-wide search. Science 1996;274:1371-1373.
15. Bubela TM, Caulfield TA: Do the print media 'hype' genetic research? A comparison of newspaper stories and peer-reviewed research papers. CMAJ 2004;170:1399-1407.
16. Moynihan R, Bero L, Ross-Degnan D, Henry D, Lee K, Watkins J, et al: Coverage by the news media of the benefits and risks of medications. N Engl J Med 2000;342:1645-1650.
17. MacDonald MM, Hoffman-Goetz L: A retrospective study of the accuracy of cancer information in Ontario daily newspapers. Can J Public Health 2002;93:142-145.
18. Ioannidis JP, Ntzani EE, Trikalinos TA, Contopoulos-Ioannidis DG: Replication validity of genetic association studies. Nat Genet 2001;29:306-309.
19. Hirschhorn JN, Lohmueller K, Byrne E, Hirschhorn K: A comprehensive review of genetic association studies. Genet Med 2002;4:45-61.
20. Lohmueller KE, Pearce CL, Pike M, Lander ES, Hirschhorn JN: Meta-analysis of genetic association studies supports a contribution of common variants to susceptibility to common disease. Nat Genet 2003;33:177-182.
21. Conrad P, Weinberg D: Has the gene for alcoholism been discovered three times since 1980? A news media analysis. Perspect Soc Probl 1996;8:3-25.
22. Koren G, Klein N: Bias against negative studies in newspaper reports of medical research. JAMA 1991;266:1824-1826.
23. Moynihan R: Making medical journalism healthier. Lancet 2003;361:2097-2098.
24. Marshall E: The power of the front page of The New York Times. Science 1998;280:996-997.
25. McComas KA, Simone LM: Media coverage of conflicts of interest in science. Sci Commun 2003;24:395-419.
26. Highfield R: Selling science to the public. Science 2000;289:59.
27. de Semir V: What is newsworthy? Lancet 1996;347:1063-1066.
28. Peters HP: The interaction of journalists and scientific experts: Cooperation and conflict between two professional cultures. Media Cult Soc 1995;17:31-48.
29. Nelkin D: An uneasy relationship: The tensions between medicine and the media. Lancet 1996;347:1600-1603.
30. Schwartz LM, Woloshin S: On the prevention and treatment of exaggeration. J Gen Intern Med 2003;18:153-154.
31. Hartz J, Chappell R: Worlds Apart: How the Distance between Science and Journalism Threatens America's Future. Nashville, First Amendment Center, 1997.
32. Altman LK: Promises of miracles: News releases go where journals fear to tread. New York Times, Jan 10, 1995; Sect. C, Medical Science, p 3.
33. Ransohoff DF, Ransohoff RM: Sensationalism in the media: When scientists and journalists may be complicit collaborators. Eff Clin Pract 2001;4:185-188.
34. Ahmad W, Faiyaz ul Haque M, Brancolini V, Tsou HC, ul Haque S, Lam H, et al: Alopecia universalis associated with a mutation in the human hairless gene. Science 1998;279:720-724.
35. Studying gene in hopes of finding cure for baldness. CBS News Transcripts, 1998.
36. Neergaard L: Scientists discover first gene associated with aging. Associated Press, 1996.
37. Schwartz LM, Woloshin S: News media coverage of screening mammography for women in their 40s and tamoxifen for primary prevention of breast cancer. JAMA 2002;287:3136-3142.
38. Winsten JA: Science and the media: The boundaries of truth. Health Aff (Millwood) 1985;4:5-23.
39. Condit C: Science reporting to the public: Does the message get twisted? CMAJ 2004;170:1415-1416.
40. Oxman AD, Guyatt GH, Cook DJ, Jaeschke R, Heddle N, Keller J: An index of scientific quality for health reports in the lay press. J Clin Epidemiol 1993;46:987-1001.
41. Lehmann DJ, Johnston C, Smith AD: Synergy between the genes for butyrylcholinesterase K variant and apolipoprotein E4 in late-onset confirmed Alzheimer's disease. Hum Mol Genet 1997;6:1933-1936.
42. Bertram L, Blacker D, Mullin K, Keeney D, Jones J, Basu, S et al: Evidence for genetic linkage of Alzheimer's disease to chromosome 10q. Science 2000;290:2302-2303.
43. Ertekin-Taner N, Graff-Radford N, Younkin LH, Eckman C, Baker M, Adamson J, et al: Linkage of plasma Abeta42 to a quantitative locus on chromosome 10 in late-onset Alzheimer's disease pedigrees. Science 2000;290:2303-2304.
44. Myers A, Holmans P, Marshall H, Kwon J, Meyer D, Ramie D, et al: Susceptibility locus for Alzheimer's disease on chromosome 10. Science 2000;290:2304-2305.
45. Gailani MR, Stahle-Backdahl M, Leffell DJ, Glynn M, Zaphiropoulos PG, Pressman C, et al: The role of the human homologue of Drosophila patched in sporadic basal cell carcinomas. Nat Genet 1996;14:78-81.
46. Laken SJ, Petersen GM, Gruber SB, Oddoux C, Ostrer H, Giardiello FM, et al: Familial colorectal cancer in Ashkenazim due to a hypermutable tract in APC. Nat Genet 1997;17:79-83.
47. Hanis CL, Boerwinkle E, Chakraborty R, Ellsworth DL, Concannon P, Stirling B, et al: A genome-wide search for human non-insulin-dependent (type 2) diabetes genes reveals a major susceptibility locus on chromosome 2. Nat Genet 1996;13:161-166.
48. Horikawa Y, Oda N, Cox NJ, Li X, Orho-Melander M, Hara M, et al: Genetic variation in the gene encoding calpain-10 is associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Nat Genet 2000;26:163-175.
49. Stone EM, Fingert JH, Alward WLM, Nguyen TD, Polansky JR, Sunden SLF, et al: Identification of a gene that causes primary open angle glaucoma. Science 1997;275:668-670.
50. Feder JN, Gnirke A, Thomas W, Tsuchihashi Z, Ruddy DA, Basava A, et al: A novel MHC class I-like gene is mutated in patients with hereditary haemochromatosis. Nat Genet 1996;13:399-408.
51. Liu R, Paxton WA, Choe S, Ceradini D, Martin SR, Horuk R, et al: Homozygous defect in HIV-1 coreceptor accounts for resistance of some multiply-exposed individuals to HIV-1 infection. Cell 1996;86:367-377.
52. Sozzi G, Veronese ML, Negrini M, Baffa R, Cotticelli MG, Inoue H, et al: The FHIT gene 3p14.2 is abnormal in lung cancer. Cell 1996;85:17-26.
53. Shriver SP, Bourdeau HA, Gubish CT, Tirpak DL, Davis AL, Luketich JD, et al: Sex-specific expression of gastrin-releasing peptide receptor: Relationship to smoking history and risk of lung cancer. J Natl Cancer Inst 2000;92:24-33.
54. Allikmets R, Shroyer NF, Singh N, Seddon JM, Lewis RA, Bernstein PS, et al: Mutation of the Stargardt disease gene (ABCR) in age-related macular degeneration. Science 1997;277:1805-1807.
55. Li J, Yen C, Liaw D, Podsypanina K, Bose S, Wang SI, et al: PTEN, a putative protein tyrosine phosphatase gene mutated in human brain, breast, and prostate cancer. Science 1997;275:1943-1947.
56. Lin L, Faraco J, Li R, Kadotani H, Rogers W, Lin X, et al: The sleep disorder canine narcolepsy is caused by a mutation in the hypocretin (orexin) receptor 2 gene. Cell 1999;98:365-376.
57. Montague CT, Farooqi IS, Whitehead JP, Soos MA, Rau H, Wareham NJ, et al: Congenital leptin deficiency is associated with severe early-onset obesity in humans. Nature 1997;387:903-908.
58. Polymeropoulos MH, Lavedan C, Leroy E, Ide SE, Dehejia A, Dutra A, et al: Mutation in the alpha-synuclein gene identified in families with Parkinson's disease. Science 1997;276:2045-2047.
59. Smith O: Genetic testing: Out of the bottle. Nat Med 1996;2:613-614.
60. Meindl A, Dry K, Herrmann K, Manson F, Ciccodicola A, Edgar A, et al: A gene (RPGR) with homology to the RCC1 guanine nucleotide exchange factor is mutated in X-linked retinitis pigmentosa (RP3). Nat Genet 1996;13:35-42.
61. Amir RE, Van den Veyver I, Wan M, Tran CQ, Francke U, Zoghbi HY: Rett syndrome is caused by mutations in X-linked MECP2, encoding methyl-CpG-binding protein 2. Nat Genet 1999;23:185-188.
62. Blouin JL, Dombroski BA, Nath SK, Lasseter VK, Wolyniec PS, Nestadt G, et al: Schizophrenia susceptibility loci on chromosomes 13q32 and 8p21. Nat Genet 1998;20:70-73.
63. Bodzioch M, Orso E, Klucken J, Langmann T, Bottcher A, Diederich W, et al: The gene encoding ATP-binding cassette transporter 1 is mutated in Tangier disease. Nat Genet 1999;22:347-351.
64. Rapley EA, Crockford GP, Teare D, Biggs P, Seal S, Barfoot R, et al: Localization to Xq27 of a susceptibility gene for testicular germ-cell tumours. Nat Genet 2000;24:197-200.
65. Yu CE, Oshima J, Fu YH, Wijsman EM, Hisama F, Alisch R, et al: Positional cloning of the Werner's syndrome gene. Science 1996;272:258-262.