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Curmudgeon’s Corner: Laughter and Heart Disease: A Question of Association vs. Causation

Curmudgeon’s Corner: Laughter and Heart Disease: A Question of Association vs. Causation

by | May 1, 2022

Post Categories: Cardiovascular Health | Diabetes Management | Mental Health | Mind-Body Medicine | Studies/Reviews

As naturopathic doctors we rely heavily on epidemiological research to help us steer patients toward health-promoting lifestyle choices. Epidemiology is the study of the distribution and determinants of diseases and other health-related states in specified populations. The word epidemiology comes from three Greek words: “epi”, which means on or upon, “demos,” meaning people, (as in democracy) and “logos,” meaning the study of. Epidemiology is the study of what befalls the people.

In contrast to other scientific disciplines, epidemiology is hampered by the difficulty of setting up experiments to test theories. Ethical considerations prevent scientists from setting up straight forward clinical trials to give people a disease. Epidemiological research is generally limited to careful observation. Without controlled experiments we are left with multiple possible explanations for observed associations. Associations may be due to chance, bias, confounding, reverse causality, and every once in a while, true cause and effect. Proving the later, is anything but simple. Here’s an interesting example.

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Author

Jacob Schor, ND, FABNO

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