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"I do not understand why colonoscopy should be expected to reduce deaths from all causes."
No, that is NOT what I said! Colonoscopy is NOT expected to reduce deaths from anything other than colorectal cancer. But that is averaged in! So the group that got colonoscopies were expected to get less colorectal cancer, and to die less often from it, and to therefore have a lower rate of all cause mortality!
But that did not happen! Rates of death from colorectal cancer were not lowered significantly by colonoscopies, and general rates of death were not lowered at all!
There are non-invasive tests for colon cancer. Get those tests if you are worried. Do NOT get a colonoscopy unless there is a very definite reason for getting it.
The medical industry changes slowly, and MDs don't have time to read the latest research. Be skeptical if your doctor insists you get a colonoscopy!
You don't understand, but everyone should understand this. With any medical intervention, all cause mortality has to be considered. The intervention could slightly lower death rates for one thing, while slightly raising them for other things. Unless all cause mortality is decreased by an intervention, the intervention has no value.
And I am very skeptical about the article you linked. WHY would the researchers count people who did NOT have colonoscopies as being in the colonoscopy group? That is probably a misunderstanding, I will try to find the information.
Deaths from colonoscopy are rare. The reduction in deaths from colonoscopy is considerable.
In essence the researchers were looking at the effect of offering colonoscopies to the population, not the effect of having colonoscopies on the diagnosis of colon cancer and deaths from it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Good4Nothin
No, that is NOT what I said! Colonoscopy is NOT expected to reduce deaths from anything other than colorectal cancer. But that is averaged in! So the group that got colonoscopies were expected to get less colorectal cancer, and to die less often from it, and to therefore have a lower rate of all cause mortality!
But that did not happen! Rates of death from colorectal cancer were not lowered significantly by colonoscopies, and general rates of death were not lowered at all!
There are non-invasive tests for colon cancer. Get those tests if you are worried. Do NOT get a colonoscopy unless there is a very definite reason for getting it.
The medical industry changes slowly, and MDs don't have time to read the latest research. Be skeptical if your doctor insists you get a colonoscopy!
Having a colonoscopy will not prevent someone from dying from a heart attack or in a motor vehicle accident or from a homicide.
Rates of colon cancer deaths were lowered in the group that actually got colonoscopies.
Your advice to not get screening colonoscopy is very bad.
No, that is NOT what I said! Colonoscopy is NOT expected to reduce deaths from anything other than colorectal cancer. But that is averaged in! So the group that got colonoscopies were expected to get less colorectal cancer, and to die less often from it, and to therefore have a lower rate of all cause mortality!
But that did not happen! Rates of death from colorectal cancer were not lowered significantly by colonoscopies, and general rates of death were not lowered at all!
There are non-invasive tests for colon cancer. Get those tests if you are worried. Do NOT get a colonoscopy unless there is a very definite reason for getting it.
The medical industry changes slowly, and MDs don't have time to read the latest research. Be skeptical if your doctor insists you get a colonoscopy!
As I said in a previous post, "dying" of colon cancer is not the ONLY unpleasant side effect of the disease.
As for "all-cause mortality", it makes zero sense to me to group colorectal cancer deaths with automobile accidents, drug overdoses, and drownings... just to name a few of the many causes of death.
As I said in a previous post, "dying" of colon cancer is not the ONLY unpleasant side effect of the disease.
As for "all-cause mortality", it makes zero sense to me to group colorectal cancer deaths with automobile accidents, drug overdoses, and drownings... just to name a few of the many causes of death.
No, you are completely failing to understand what all cause mortality means. Colonoscopies will have no effect at all on accidents, drug overdoses, etc. But if people who get colonoscopies do not, on average, live any longer than those who don't, that means if there are any benefits to colonoscopies they are cancelled out by the risks.
And I said there are non-invasive tests that should always be done before resorting to an invasive test.
Maybe some do. Most don't have a lot of time to think carefully about the latest research. If they did, they would not still be pushing colonoscopies for everyone past a certain age.
Maybe some do. Most don't have a lot of time to think carefully about the latest research. If they did, they would not still be pushing colonoscopies for everyone past a certain age.
"The research" did not show what you think it does.
Yes it does show what I think it does. NO effect on all cause mortality. But you have no understanding of what that means.
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