Online reviews of health products 'are misleading'

Conclusions This unique study suggests that, in general, online medical product reviews may give a distorted and enhanced perception of the effectiveness of the product compared with that actually demonstrated in randomised controlled trials. The author discusses potential theories around this. For example, it may reflect the fact people are more likely to post a review if they found something good than if the benefit they found was not that remarkable or there was no benefit at all. He also suggests people may not wish to dwell on prior periods of ill health, whereas a positive recovery is something they may want to share with others. People who remain in poorer health could also have lower mood and be less inclined to engage in sharing information about their health. But, as the author acknowledges, in the case of raised cholesterol this theory doesn't provide the whole answer because the condition doesn't cause as many obvious health problems. However, it's important to note a few points: Fraudulent or fake reviews are rare and were not found in the data reviewed in this study. The benefits reported may have been greater than those found in clinical trials, but they were still reporting the same effect: lower cholesterol or weight loss. Around 90-100% of reviews are thought to be reliable, or at least written in "good faith" and not in an attempt to mislead people. People who achieve big results with certain products may be the exception rath...
Source: NHS News Feed - Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Medication Medical practice Source Type: news