title: The association between exaggeration in health related science news and academic press releases: retrospective observational study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To identify the source (press releases or news) of distortions, exaggerations, or changes to the main conclusions drawn from research that could potentially influence a reader's health related behaviour.
  
  
  METHODS
  Retrospective quantitative content analysis.
  
  
  METHODS
  Journal articles, press releases, and related news, with accompanying simulations.
  
  
  METHODS
  Press releases (n = 462) on biomedical and health related science issued by 20 leading UK universities in 2011, alongside their associated peer reviewed research papers and news stories (n = 668).
  
  
  METHODS
  Advice to readers to change behaviour, causal statements drawn from correlational research, and inference to humans from animal research that went beyond those in the associated peer reviewed papers.
  
  
  RESULTS
  40% (95% confidence interval 33% to 46%) of the press releases contained exaggerated advice, 33% (26% to 40%) contained exaggerated causal claims, and 36% (28% to 46%) contained exaggerated inference to humans from animal research. When press releases contained such exaggeration, 58% (95% confidence interval 48% to 68%), 81% (70% to 93%), and 86% (77% to 95%) of news stories, respectively, contained similar exaggeration, compared with exaggeration rates of 17% (10% to 24%), 18% (9% to 27%), and 10% (0% to 19%) in news when the press releases were not exaggerated. Odds ratios for each category of analysis were 6.5 (95% confidence interval 3.5 to 12), 20 (7.6 to 51), and 56 (15 to 211). At the same time, there was little evidence that exaggeration in press releases increased the uptake of news.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Exaggeration in news is strongly associated with exaggeration in press releases. Improving the accuracy of academic press releases could represent a key opportunity for reducing misleading health related news.
authors.affiliation: Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre, School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff CF10 3AT, UK School of Psychology, Cardiff University, UK sumnerp@cardiff.ac.uk chambersc1@cardiff.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Petroc
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sumner
authors.affiliation: Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre, School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff CF10 3AT, UK School of Psychology, Cardiff University, UK.
authors.forename: Solveiga
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Vivian-Griffiths
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, Cardiff University, UK.
authors.forename: Jacky
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Boivin
authors.affiliation: School of Journalism, Media & Cultural Studies, Cardiff University, UK.
authors.forename: Andy
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.affiliation: School of Women's and Children's Health, University of New South Wales, and Graduate School of Medicine, Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health, University of Wollongong, Australia.
authors.forename: Christos A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Venetis
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, Cardiff University, UK.
authors.forename: Aimée
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Davies
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, Cardiff University, UK.
authors.forename: Jack
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ogden
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, Cardiff University, UK.
authors.forename: Leanne
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Whelan
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, Cardiff University, UK.
authors.forename: Bethan
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Hughes
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, Cardiff University, UK.
authors.forename: Bethan
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Dalton
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Swansea University, UK.
authors.forename: Fred
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Boy
authors.affiliation: Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre, School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff CF10 3AT, UK School of Psychology, Cardiff University, UK sumnerp@cardiff.ac.uk chambersc1@cardiff.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Christopher D
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Chambers
mesh_terms: D035843:Biomedical Research; D015438:Health Behavior; D066275:Health Information Exchange / Q000592:standards; D006801:Humans; D033181:Information Dissemination; D008402:Mass Media / Q000592:standards*; D010353:Patient Education as Topic / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards; D012189:Retrospective Studies