Table.
Factors associated with the issuing of press releases of original research published in the Lancet or BMJ and factors associated with reporting in the Times or Sun
| Factor
|
No of research articles published (n=1193)
|
Press released (n=517)
|
Reported in Times or Sun (n=81)
|
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No (%) of articles
|
Odds ratio (95% CI)
|
No (%) of articles
|
Odds ratio (95% CI)
|
|||
| Study design: | ||||||
| Observational study* | 444 | 219 (49) | 1.0 (reference) | 47 (11) | 1.0 (reference) | |
| Randomised trial | 295 | 133 (45) | 0.84 (0.63 to 1.13) | 5 (2) | 0.15 (0.06 to 0.37) | |
| Systematic review | 70 | 25 (36) | 0.57 (0.34 to 0.96) | 4 (6) | 0.51 (0.18 to 1.47) | |
| Other | 384 | 139 (36) | 0.59 (0.45 to 0.78) | 25 (7) | 0.59 (0.35 to 0.98) | |
| Nature of results: | ||||||
| Good news | 533 | 237 (44) | 1.0 (reference) | 30 (6) | 1.0 (reference) | |
| Bad news | 447 | 217 (49) | 1.18 (0.92 to 1.52) | 42 (9) | 1.74 (1.07 to 2.83) | |
| Neutral | 213 | 63 (30) | 0.52 (0.37 to 0.74) | 9 (4) | 0.74 (0.34 to 1.58) | |
| Focus on†: | ||||||
| Women's health | 144 | 93 (65) | 2.69 (1.84 to 3.94) | 25 (17) | 3.73 (2.14 to 6.32) | |
| Babies or children | 163 | 82 (50) | 1.38 (0.98 to 1.96) | 13 (8) | 1.23 (0.61 to 2.31) | |
| Men's health | 36 | 19 (53) | 1.49 (0.72 to 3.06) | 4 (11) | 1.75 (0.44 to 5.13) | |
| Elderly people | 39 | 18 (46) | 1.13 (0.56 to 2.24) | 0 | Not defined | |
| Cancer patients | 105 | 55 (52) | 1.49 (0.98 to 2.27) | 19 (18) | 3.66 (1.97 to 6.53) | |
| Heart patients | 172 | 70 (41) | 0.88 (0.62 to 1.24) | 8 (5) | 0.63 (0.26 to 1.35) | |
| Diabetes patients | 27 | 6 (22) | 0.37 (0.12 to 0.95) | 1 (4) | 0.52 (0.01 to 3.27) | |
| Reproduction | 84 | 54 (64) | 1.85 (1.19 to 2.91) | 13 (15) | 2.43 (1.18 to 4.68) | |
| Mental health | 73 | 40 (55) | 1.63 (0.99 to 2.71) | 5 (7) | 1.01 (0.31 to 2.58) | |
| Study location: | ||||||
| United Kingdom | 554 | 249 (45) | 1.0 (reference) | 54 (10) | 1.0 (reference) | |
| Other industrialised | 518 | 216 (42) | 0.88 (0.69 to 1.12) | 27 (5) | 0.51 (0.31 to 0.82) | |
| Developing country | 121 | 52 (43) | 0.92 (0.62 to 1.37) | 0 | Not defined | |
*
Cohort, cross sectional, case-control, or ecological study.
†
Reference groups: all other studies.