This is an extremely poor study to use. I have read the entire study very carefully in depth. The study was whittled down to 136 people with usable stats. The graph says it all. Only 35 vrs 39 % or people showed a difference in quality of life. I am not a statistician but, by no stretch of my imagination, can 4% or people constitute a SIGNIFICANT meaning from a mere 136 people... 136,000, maybe.
I strongly suggest you (and my brother on C-H) discontinue using this study, and either find a well researched one or remove your advice.
As you (both) claim to be experts, I strongly suggest you read all studies with a cynical eye before using. What caught my eye was the phrase ..It is commonly accepted... A phrase often the beginning of a circular argument
I thank you for your opinion and can request that health central remove the post, however, I have no control over whether Health Central will choose to do so. I no longer write as an expert for Health Central. I also trust that readers would keep in mind that this piece was published 2.5 years ago about an article also published that year and would consider that there may be more recent studies and information to compare and use.
I don't recall seeing the phrase "it is commonly accepted" anywhere in my post, but I may be wrong. I did say that NSAIDs are commonly used as one of many rteatments for RA, which is a fair statement. I also tried to make a point to discuss the low number of participants and the limitations of the study. But most importantly, I tried as well to focus readers on the real take away message (regardless of the adequacy of the study), which is that patients need to communicate with their physicians and vice versa, to make sure that the pain management strategies being used are appropriate, in order to reduce the incidence of over medication, improve patient symptoms and reduce patient safety issues.
Thank you,
Christine
Thank you for your reply
The phrase ... it is commonly...(or words to that effect) was not in your article, but in the original publication by Stacey Kovac. That is what caused me to read it carefully.
While your final conclusion is certainly valid, I stand by my assertion that you did not read the paper carefully before, to a very high degree, supporting her very weak research.
Derek
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Christine, have you ever had your vitamin D level checked? My mother has suffered with RA for over 20 years and recently had her level checked, it was 8, it should be 50. DR put her on 50,000ius per week and now she feels better than she has in years
No, I haven't had my vitamin D level checked. But thank you for the suggestion. I did speak to my rheumatologist about it after you first posted the comment. She felt that in my circumstance, it was unnecessary.