The New Super-Nutrition by Richard A. Passwater Ph.D

Author:Richard A. Passwater, Ph.D.
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pocket Books
Published: 1991-07-15T00:00:00+00:00

Fabrication and Admitted Errors

After the public embarrassment caused by the Atlantic Monthly article the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) admitted that the key heart study used to justify the massive cholesterol intervention campaign was flawed from the outset.

Dr. Basil Rifkind, chief of the institute’s Lipid Metabolism and Atherogenesis Branch, admitted in November 1989 that the MRFIT study was badly designed. Dr. Rifkind acknowledged that the experimental and control groups received the same basic treatment. Therefore, the data could lead to findings that neither the drugs nor diets significantly lowered the risk of death for individuals treated for high blood cholesterol levels.

Nutrition Week, 20 published by the Community Nutrition Institute, pointed out that Dr. Rifkind’s acknowledgment raised more questions than it answered.

“If the study design was flawed, why was so obvious of a fault so easily overlooked, particularly since MRFIT was the largest and most expensive cholesterol study to be funded by the NHLBI, a study described by the agency as providing the final answer to the cholesterol question? Why has NHLBI waited so long to suggest it made such an error? Why has NHLBI chosen to disown MRFIT only when the public is becoming aware that its data threaten the credibility of the cholesterol program? Until these questions are answered, the Rifkind statement can be viewed as an effort by NHLBI to jettison the MRFIT data while claiming the cholesterol program is justified on the basis of other studies.”

Two years ago a key investigator long associated with the cholesterol study was found to have fabricated his research results. 21

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