1. Use of Causal Language in Observational Studies of Obesity and Nutrition
- Author
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David B. Allison, Rachel V. Corona, and Stacey S. Cofield
- Subjects
medicine.medical_specialty ,Health (social science) ,Nutritional Sciences ,Alternative medicine ,Bibliometrics ,Risk Assessment ,Bias ,Risk Factors ,Research Support as Topic ,Terminology as Topic ,Physiology (medical) ,Epidemiology ,Chi-square test ,medicine ,Humans ,Obesity ,Language ,business.industry ,Reproducibility of Results ,medicine.disease ,Causality ,Epidemiologic Studies ,Data Interpretation, Statistical ,Original Article ,Observational study ,Periodicals as Topic ,Risk assessment ,business ,Clinical psychology - Abstract
Objective: To assesss the inappropriate use of causal language in studies on obesity and nutrition. Methods: Titles and abstracts of 525 peer-reviewed papers in the 4 leading journals in the fields of obesity and nutrition were scrutinized for language implying causality in observational studies published in 2006. Results: Such misleading language appeared in 161 papers (31%) independent of funding source. Remarkably 49% of studies lacking statistically significant primary outcomes used misleading language compared to 29% of those with p values ≤0.05 (chi square p < 0.001). Exculpatory language was present in the body of the text in 19%; of the 161 studies. Conclusion: We suggest that editors and reviewers evaluate submissions for misleading reporting.
- Published
- 2010
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