Edzard Ernst
MD, PhD, MAE, FMedSci, FRSB, FRCP, FRCPEd.

The most ‘popular’ and the most ‘important’ posts of 2022

Published Friday 30 December 2022

Before the New Year, many journals publish retrospectives of the things that have been happening in the year that is about to end. I have often thought that this is mainly due to the laziness of the journalists and editors. These pieces can be prepared in advance and thus do not disturb their holiday routine between Christmas and New Year. Well, I have to admit that I too am a lazy chap who has prepared a post about the preceding year.

Listed below are all the posts of 2022 that prompted at least 50 comments.

  1. British MP, Andrew Bridgen, claims that mRNA Covid vaccines are “not safe, not effective and not necessary”
  2. Homeopathy kills vulnerable patients
  3. Individualized exercise therapy for chronic low back pain
  4. ‘Arguments’ used to defend so-called alternative medicine
  5. The market for homeopathics is predicted to grow significantly
  6. Catastrophic injuries after chiropractic treatment
  7. A residential health programme that poses “a risk to the health and safety of members of the public”
  8. Homeopathy for COVID-19: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial shows that it does not work
  9. The body of evidence on homeopathy is rotten to the core
  10. Excess mortality due to the COVID-19 pandemic
  11. Preference of so-called alternative medicine predicts negative attitudes to vaccination
  12. “Nothing much new here about Chucky Windsor’s credulity …” A review of the reactions to my biography of Prince Charles
  13. Acute Subdural Hemorrhage Following Cervical Chiropractic Manipulation
  14. Double-sided vertebral artery dissection in a 33-year-old man. The chiropractor is not guilty?
  15. Chiropractic spinal manipulation is not safe!
  16. Best Practices for the Chiropractic Care of Children
  17. The ‘moral and intellectual decay’ of COVID disinformants
  18. What are the reasons for opposing COVID vaccinations?
  19. No-Vax Djokovic: an “anti-scientific crank hiding in plain sight”

In 2022, I published in excess of 300 posts. Some attracted no comments at all; most prompted about a dozen, and some generated many more comments (the record was in excess of 200). The latter group is not necessarily the most popular, perhaps just the most controversial set of posts. They are also not necessarily my best articles; they are just the ones that caused you, my readers, to submit the most comments.

So, what were the best posts? I am probably not in the best position to judge but, for what it’s worth, here are some that I felt were better than average:

  1. Osteopathy: an absence of good-quality evidence
  2. ‘Arguments’ used to defend so-called alternative medicine
  3. INSTRUCTIONS FOR CHILD ABUSE: Three best-selling books on homeopathy for kids
  4. Most healthcare interventions tested in Cochrane Reviews are not supported by high-quality evidence
  5. Widespread fraud in natural health products research 
  6. Quackery is on the rise, and the placebo effect is part of the problem
  7. Protecting vulnerable patients from charlatans: a story of superb teamwork
  8. What motivates a doctor to work as an integrative medical practitioner?
  9. Beyond the headlines: an analysis of 22 articles from ‘THE DAILY EXPRESS’
  10. The ‘golden rules’ of so-called alternative medicine (SCAM)
  11. Comments by a chiropractor: insights into quasi-religious zeal
  12. Chiropractic spinal manipulation is not safe!
  13. Prince Charles’ advocacy of quackery is by no means harmless
  14. Anti-vax arguments used by proponents of SCAM are stupid, or wrong, or both

Is there a common denominator between the two sets of posts (other than SCAM)? Not really! This probably is because I try to cover many diverse topics under the umbrella of SCAM (and very occasionally also beyond it). If there is anything at all that most posts might have in common, it must be the fact that I often make a conscious effort to educate the public about SCAM and try to counter-balance the uncritical hype the subject enjoys almost everywhere else.

Comparing the two sets of posts, the most striking observation might be that the 1st one mainly relates to defined SCAM interventions, while the 2nd set of posts tends to be about general issues related to SCAM. Another finding might also be relevant: posts that I feel are amongst my ‘best’ are clearly not the ones that generate the most comments. This, of course, begs the question as to what I define as ‘best’ in the context of this blog. I have to admit that I find this is far from easy. ‘Best’, I suppose, means informative/relevant/well-researched/most thoughtful.

I kept the most important issue emerging from all this to the last. As the year 2022 ends, I have the urge to thank all of you, the folks that read my posts and sometimes even provide comments to them. Some are supportive, others are the opposite; some are informative, others are infuriating; some are correct, others are not. But all have one thing in common: they are the lifeblood of my blog!

Let me use the occasion of the last post of 2022 to thank you all for your interest in my work.

See you next year.

 

 

Posted in alternative medicine, bias, critical thinking, education, experience, research

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