Major Medical Journals Charged With Neglecting Preventive Medicine – (08-28-00)

Major Medical Journals Charged With Neglecting Preventive Medicine

Is this any major surprise? The sad thing is that prevention is truly the best way to approach health…not putting out fires as they start.

Am J Prev Med 2000;19:00-00 A report released in the August issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine suggests that The Journal of the American Medical Association and the New England Journal of Medicine preferentially publish research dealing with treatment of specific diseases instead of research emphasizing the importance of preventive measures. The researchers looked at all original investigations, reviews, editorials and special reports published in the two journals during 1998, some 1,160 papers in all. Only 71 of those, 6% of the total, focused on primary prevention of disease. Just 11 dealt with diet, exercise, and other health-promoting behaviors. About 60% of the papers analyzed in the two journals concentrated on epidemiology, basic science, or treatment of specific diseases with new drugs. Many of the rest addressed healthcare policy issues.