Читать книгу Nutrition For Dummies - Carol Ann Rinzler - Страница 23

No, a researcher’s saying, “Well, I did give this to a couple of people,” is not enough. To provide a reliable conclusion, a study must include sufficient numbers of people to establish a pattern. Otherwise, there’s always the possibility that an effect occurred by chance.

Equally important, the study needs people of different ages, races, ethnicity, and, yes, gender. Without them, the results may not apply across the board. One good example can be found in the original studies linking high blood cholesterol levels to an increased risk of heart disease and linking small doses of aspirin to a reduced risk of a second heart attack involved only men. It wasn’t until follow-up studies were conducted with women that researchers were able to say with any certainty that high cholesterol may be hazardous for men and women and that aspirin is protective for women as well as men — but not in quite the same way. As cardiovascular researchers eventually learned, men taking low-dose aspirin tend to lower their risk of heart attack. For women, the aspirin reduces the risk of stroke. Vive la difference!