2014-04-29

Medical Conspiracy Theories and Health Behaviors

4.29: news.pol/gemini/Medical Conspiracy Theories and Health Behaviors:
JAMA Intern Med/Research Letter | March 17, 2014
Medical Conspiracy Theories and Health Behaviors
in the United States 
summary by anh-usa.org:
Science is challenging because
you have to carry around a lot of uncertainty;
and there is a lot of money to be made
from corrupting the science .
. people who believed in science conspiracies
were more likely to use alternative medicine
and to avoid traditional medicine,
and less likely to follow prescription regimens.
. only 13% of conspiracy deniers used
herbal supplements (an untested alt'medicine),
vs 35% of conspiracy theorists who believed
3 or more of the following theories:
# elites are Suppressing Access to Natural Cures
because of pressure from BigPharma .
(37%, 31% don't know)
# cell phones are known to cause cancer;
(20%, 40% don't know)
# the CIA infected Africans with HIV
claiming it was a hepatitis inoculation;
(12%, 37% don't know)
# GMOs are part of Agenda 21's depopulation program,
(12%, 46% don't know)
# childhood vaccinations are known to cause autism;
(20%, 36% don't know)
# water fluoridation is poisonous but tolerated
as a way to dump toxic phosphate mining waste .
(12%, 41% don't know)
. some 49% of the usa survey participants agreed
there was truth to at least one conspiracy theory;
. only 18% believed 3 or more theories .
. conspiracy theorists were more likely to
eat organic or direct-from-farmer food
[ because an organic label is the only way to know
what is not a GMO (genetically modified organism) ];
and were less likely to use sunscreen or influenza shots;
surprisingly there was not much difference
in the use of annual physical exams (45% vs 37%).
. anh-usa.org has reported extensively on
the FDA's attacks on integrative practitioners
and their innovative treatments.

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