Quoth the Raven
· QTR’s Fringe Finance
· May 15, 2026 at 07:02
· ⏱ 28 min read
| Read on Substack ↗
Summary
The article argues that general health checks (annual physicals) are harmful, not beneficial, based on a Cochrane review showing no reduction in mortality but increased diagnoses and treatments. It criticizes government and industry for ignoring evidence and promoting wasteful, potentially harmful screening programs. For investors, the piece offers no direct market implications, but highlights systemic risks in health policy and pharmaceutical industry lobbying.
•A Cochrane review of 14 trials (21,535 deaths) found no reduction in total mortality (risk ratio 1.00), cardiovascular mortality (1.05), or cancer mortality (1.01) from general health checks.
•Mammography screening is also criticized: 'breast screening detects cancers very late, it doesn’t save lives, and more women lose a breast.'
•The Danish Association of the Pharmaceutical Industry admitted in 2007 that their goal for health checks was 'to sell more drugs.'
•The UK NHS Health Check programme claimed it would prevent 9,500 heart attacks and strokes, but after the Cochrane review, ministers retreated to claiming 650 lives saved.
•Public Health England refused to publish the authors' rebuttal on their website, citing that the website 'was not a forum for debating their merits.'
•NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) in 2014 supported the programme despite lack of evidence, behaving as a 'lapdog for the NHS and the drug industry.'
•Danish Minister of Health Nick Hækkerup admitted he was 'an opinionated person, not a scientist' and based his support on talking to three renovation workers.
•The author documents censorship and document suppression by Danish health authorities, calling it 'torturing your data till they confess.'
Read time28 min
Length28,573 chars
Categoryfinance
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