Health / Santé: Distinguer croyances et connaissance

Today, we can easily feel overwhelmed by the abundance of medical information provided by the media and, in particular, by the Internet. How can we distinguish between beliefs and knowledge in matters of health? How can we distinguish between what is still only a theory, a hypothesis, an idea, a belief and what is based on objective data and is knowledge whose quality can be assessed? In short, how can we sort out the true from the false? How can we no longer be afraid of everything and nothing? For example, how can we know if a medication is really effective against a disease and what risks it may present for health? How can we know if it is useful to get vaccinated against the flu? Or to get screened for breast or prostate cancer? In matters of health, whether it is care, prevention or screening, epidemiology is there precisely to allow us to make the difference and make more informed decisions, for ourselves or our loved ones. And it is a discipline that, with a few simple rules, each of us can apply in our daily lives! Alfredo Morabia is a physician and professor of epidemiology at Columbia University in New York and New York State University. He is editor-in-chief of the medical journal Preventive Medicine and has published Causal Epidemiology and Clinical Epidemiology.