{"id":37417,"date":"2016-09-16T16:35:53","date_gmt":"2016-09-16T15:35:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stg-blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/?p=37417"},"modified":"2016-09-16T16:37:43","modified_gmt":"2016-09-16T15:37:43","slug":"jeanne-lenzer-donald-trump-on-dr-oz-the-greatest-non-evidence-based-show-on-earth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stg-blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2016\/09\/16\/jeanne-lenzer-donald-trump-on-dr-oz-the-greatest-non-evidence-based-show-on-earth\/","title":{"rendered":"Jeanne Lenzer: Donald Trump on Dr Oz\u2014the greatest non-evidence based show on earth"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"jeanne_lenzer\"<\/a>Late night comics will love Donald Trump\u2019s latest act of showmanship: the neatly choreographed moment when he pulled out his \u201cmedical record\u201d from his jacket pocket on The Dr Oz Show<\/em> last night<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The show and this big reveal garnered plenty of headlines: now everyone knows that Mr Trump is overweight, verging on obese; that he thinks that waving his hands during his speeches is exercise; and that he asks his aides not to tell fast food servers that they are purchasing for Trump lest they doctor the food. And he takes low dose aspirin and a statin.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s not forget the strange letter<\/a> by Trump\u2019s longtime doctor, the gastroenterologist Harold Bornstein<\/a>, which the physician James Hamblin analysed in his article \u201cThe bizarre words of Donald Trump\u2019s doctor<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

And let\u2019s not leave out Dr Mehmet Oz<\/a> himself, who has promoted any manner of nonsense, including \u201cmiracle\u201d weight loss cures<\/a>. (See also: Televised medical talk shows\u2014what they recommend and the evidence to support their recommendations: a prospective observational study<\/a>)<\/p>\n

To elicit a history, Oz performed an abbreviated mockery of a standard review of systems live during the show.<\/p>\n

Do you have any head and neck problems? No. Any hormone problems? No. Diverticulitis? No. And so on. No. No. No. Thankfully, Oz didn\u2019t pull out a stethoscope or a latex glove.<\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s one page medical record<\/a> was just a compilation of laboratory tests, many of which aren\u2019t just of questionable value, they are actually rated \u201cDon\u2019t do it\u201d by the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) or the Choosing Wisely campaign.<\/p>\n

Once again, the public was fed the notion that a slew of tests must be a good thing, a hedge against illness and death, something to desire because celebrities and wealthy people get them.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s start with the annual exam for asymptomatic individuals, which Bornstein said Trump has every spring. Of course, it is tempting to think that we should do tests to ensure we have a fit presidential candidate. But can a bunch of lab tests and an annual tickle of the prostate gland provide that information? Not according to a 2012 Cochrane review<\/a> or this overview, The Annual Screening Exam \u2013 What’s the Evidence?<\/a><\/p>\n

What tests should we order for this 70-year-old man with no medical problems other than occasional hayfever, and who takes low dose aspirin and a statin, then? Here\u2019s a summary of the evidence for the tests Trump had had:<\/p>\n