This is an interesting study. Americans and their physicians are bombarded by drug company advertising and marketing. We have medicalized the entire population into believing they have all manner of health issues and taking immense amounts of medication. These drugs are tested in a system that is often desinged to hide potential adverse effects and exaggerate effectiveness. The drug companies select the patients most likely to respond for clinical trials and exclude those who may not have a positive outcome. Patients who aren’t responding are often encouraged to drop out of the trial. Physicians receive various benefits from over-prescribing. The effect of having people on multiple forever medications is not well-studied.
It has also become clearer from research in recent years that the human microbiome–that little community of bacteria and viruses that inhabit our bodies–has a lot to do with our health, and that disturbing that community can have adverse effects. Our intestinal tract microbiome is particularly important. The researchers found long-lasting effects to the intestinal microbiome from prescription drugs, effects that lasted long after the medication use was ended. These impacts weren’t limited to antibiotics, but included many common medications for mental health issues, anti-indigestion drugs and drugs for hypertension. These changes can cause serious health issues and exacerbate existing ones. Just another reason to be wary of extended and extensive use of prescription drugs. Ignore the ads. (ASM Article)
Thanks for pointing this out. I saw that bit about drug trials first hand when my mother in law got into a clinical trial at OHSU. She had gone thru all the chemo, but was dying from bladder cancer. OHSU started her on their clinical trial where she made improvements initially, but ultimately got worse. They booted her from the program shortly before she died. I’ve always wondered if her data was excluded from their study since it didn’t make the drug look successful.