Comments on: Patrick Holford Claims More People Die, Prematurely, From Cardiovascular Disease Than Actually Die, Prematurely, From All Causes

By: Patrick Holford, Shark Liver Oil and Walnuts « Holford Watch: Patrick Holford, nutritionism and bad science

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 18:26:26 +0000

[...] Professor at Teesside University. BANT is supporting an attempt by nutritionistas trained in similar beliefs and with similar standard…, specifically in association with a vascular check programme. If this is allowed to happen, [...]

By: LeeT

LeeT — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 22:42:39 +0000

Here is a link to what the BMA advises:

http://www.bma.org.uk/employmentandcontracts/independent_contractors/providing_gp_services/refcomtherap0406.jsp

By: LeeT

LeeT — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 22:32:01 +0000

That BANT newsletter is total b***** nonsense. It states that GPs are still not receptive to our services.

I think I am correct in saying that GPs take a big personal risk if they refer patients to some one not regulated by a statutory body. If something goes wrong they could be guilty of professional misconduct. Rather worryingly BANT have no understanding of the rules or the regulatory framework under which GPs work.

I’ll see if I can find a link on the GMC website.

By: dvnutrix

dvnutrix — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 17:06:40 +0000

The 250,000 came from a misunderstanding of an earlier version of the report (it's explained in the linked 2007 post). Holford seems to have failed to distinguish between the total no. of deaths from CVD (all ages) and the no. of premature deaths (before the age of 75).

The total number of deaths from CVD is a “quarter of a million”; the number of premature deaths that involve CVD is “just under 60,000″.

As ever, no room for complacency but it looks like improvements are such that the most comparable figure is substantially fewer than 250,000, the report says that there are 197,767 deaths from all diseases of the circulatory system even if you include all ages.

By: Neuroskeptic

Neuroskeptic — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 16:58:18 +0000

Any idea where the 250,000 figure came from, or did he just pull it out of thin air (or worse…?)

By: dvnutrix

dvnutrix — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 20:47:09 +0000

Unfortunate for arithmetic, the ability to interpret simple tabular data, comprehend a well-written, clearly laid out report (both the earlier statistics report and the more recent), science and the public understanding of the multi-factorial contribution of various factors in the aetiology of CVD, risk factors, workable prevention strategies etc.

Nonetheless, a serendipitous error for any who win commission from selling tests and supplements or who are paid in some way to endorse them.

By: jdc325

jdc325 — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 20:37:54 +0000

How unfortunate that “one of the most inspiring and informative health and nutritional experts at the cutting edge of health transformation” has made such an error.

By: jonhw

jonhw — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 18:42:49 +0000

This is quite depressing. Holford not only getting things wrong, but tediously repetitively so…

By: Wulfstan

Wulfstan — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 15:48:42 +0000

Is this some form of anti-homeopathy? If Patrick Holford states that there are more people dying prematurely from heart attacks and strokes than actually die, prematurely from all causes including cancer, injuries from car accidents, mis-adventure, brain aneurysms etc. then either something is awry with his arithmetic or he has insights that are beyond our knowing (to employ a PoModism that irritates me beyond belief). It is approaching a stroke of genius to claim that there are more premature deaths from heart attacks and strokes than there actually are for all deaths from diseases of the circulatory system across all ages. It's a shame Patrick Holford can't bring himself to acknowledge the improvements in reducing the death rate from heart attacks and strokes. However, I suppose that such an acknowledgement doesn't help if you need to earn commission from endorsing or selling tests and pills. If I needed guidance on reducing CVD risk, I would hope my GP would refer me to an RD. If not, I hope that I would be able to refuse a referral to an practitioner of nutritionism without being apprehensive about being removed from a GP's list for lack of co-operation.