Perhaps I shouldn't be, but I am constantly surprised by the links that are uncovered between psychological and physiological health. Today the Associated Press reported on a recently published study in which individuals in bad personal relationships had a significantly greater risk of heart disease than individuals in good personal relationships. While this study certainly doesn't prove causation (merely correlation), it is indicative of both the basic challenges of medical research in humans and the greater challenge of disseminating research findings to the lay public.
Commenting on the results of the study, one expert noted "it is still not clear what to recommend. Do we tell people who have negative relationships to get therapy? They may have other reasons to do so, but I see no basis for them doing so only to avoid a heart attack." Ending a bad marriage is not necessarily the answer either, he said, given evidence that being unmarried also could be a risk.
When even the experts appear at a loss, how is the public supposed to internalize the health ramifications of a clinical study?
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