ArticlePLoS medicine2012
Misrepresentation of randomized controlled trials in press releases and news coverage: a cohort study.
Article in PLoS medicine, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 98 papers, 9 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
98 citing papers in PubMed, 9 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Uncertainty and risk of misleading conclusions: an umbrella review of the quality of the evidence for ankle arthroscopy.Acta orthopaedica · 2025Pooled it
- Press Releases of Drug-Related Randomized Trial Results Prior to Publication in High-Impact Journals: an Observational Study.Journal of general internal medicine · 2023Pooled it
- Overinterpretation of findings in machine learning prediction model studies in oncology: a systematic review.Journal of clinical epidemiology · 2023Pooled it
- Quality of information in news media reports about the effects of health interventions: Systematic review and meta-analyses.F1000Research · 2021Pooled it
- Journal impact factor, trial effect size, and methodological quality appear scantly related: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Systematic reviews · 2020Pooled it
- Overinterpretation and misreporting of prognostic factor studies in oncology: a systematic review.British journal of cancer · 2018Pooled it
- Causal language and strength of inference in academic and media articles shared in social media (CLAIMS): A systematic review.PloS one · 2018Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Belief beyond the evidence: using the proposed effect of breakfast on obesity to show 2 practices that distort scientific evidence.The American journal of clinical nutrition · 2013Pooled it
- Trial
- Claims of causality in health news: a randomised trial.BMC medicine · 2019Trial
- Is Meat Industry Affiliation Associated With Study Conclusion in Nutrition Research? A Meta-Research Review.Obesity reviews : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity · 2026Review
- Selective EP4 Receptor Antagonism for Osteoarthritis Pain: Emerging Evidence and Future Directions for KF-0210.Pain and therapy · 2026Review
- Spin and Methodological Quality of Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Comparing Single- and Multiple-Visit Endodontic Treatment: A Meta-Research Study.Australian endodontic journal : the journal of the Australian Society of Endodontology Inc · 2026Review
- Identifying and mitigating bias in multiple aspects of modern clinical research.Communications medicine · 2026Review
- Reporting of primary endpoint and associated spin in randomized myeloma trials.The oncologist · 2026Article
- Misleading readers without lies: understanding spin and its relevance to acupuncture research.Integrative medicine research · 2026Article
- Systematic reviews on tranexamic acid in shoulder arthroplasty frequently exhibit reporting bias.JSES reviews, reports, and techniques · 2026Review
- Promoting informed health choices: the long and winding road.Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine · 2025Article
- How can we make sound replication decisions?Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025Article
38 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundPrevious studies indicate that in published reports, trial results can be distorted by the use of "spin" (specific reporting strategies, intentional or unintentional, emphasizing the beneficial effect of the experimental treatment). We aimed to (1) evaluate the presence of "spin" in press releases and associated media coverage; and (2) evaluate whether findings of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) based on press releases and media coverage are misinterpreted. METHODS AND
findingsWe systematically searched for all press releases indexed in the EurekAlert! database between December 2009 and March 2010. Of the 498 press releases retrieved and screened, we included press releases for all two-arm, parallel-group RCTs (n = 70). We obtained a copy of the scientific article to which the press release related and we systematically searched for related news items using Lexis Nexis. "Spin," defined as specific reporting strategies (intentional or unintentional) emphasizing the beneficial effect of the experimental treatment, was identified in 28 (40%) scientific article abstract conclusions and in 33 (47%) press releases. From bivariate and multivariable analysis assessing the journal type, funding source, sample size, type of treatment (drug or other), results of the primary outcomes (all nonstatistically significant versus other), author of the press release, and the presence of "spin" in the abstract conclusion, the only factor associated, with "spin" in the press release was "spin" in the article abstract conclusions (relative risk [RR] 5.6, [95% CI 2.8-11.1], p < 0.001). Findings of RCTs based on press releases were overestimated for 19 (27%) reports. News items were identified for 41 RCTs; 21 (51%) were reported with "spin," mainly the same type of "spin" as those identified in the press release and article abstract conclusion. Findings of RCTs based on the news item was overestimated for ten (24%) reports.
conclusion"Spin" was identified in about half of press releases and media coverage. In multivariable analysis, the main factor associated with "spin" in press releases was the presence of "spin" in the article abstract conclusion.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.