In yesterday s Dispatch we reported on a piece by ACSH trustee Dr. Paul Offit, in which he criticized the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM). The NCCAM has devoted vast resources to the study of alternative treatments, and yet, despite the fact that many supplements and other products have been shown to be entirely ineffective (and even harmful), regulation of these products remains lax. Dr. Stan Young, of the U.S. National Institute of Statistical Sciences, wrote to us in response:
Virtually none of the trials conducted by National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) have confirmed the efficacy of alternative medicines. They have, however, provided a wonderfully informative demonstration that the statistical strategies used by epidemiologists produce almost entirely false positive results. So not only can we reduce NCCAM funding, but the funding of epidemiology can be cut as well. Why pay anything for false positive results?
