Influencers on social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok are often promoting medical tests that can do more harm than good for healthy people, with many posts being utterly misleading. A new study published in JAMA Network Open analyzed nearly 1,000 posts about five popular medical tests and found that the overwhelming majority of them were incorrect.
The five tests in question include a full-body MRI scan, an “egg timer” test, multi-cancer early detection blood tests, gut microbiome tests, and testosterone testing for healthy men. While these tests can be valuable for some people, they carry the risk of overdiagnosis and unnecessary treatments for generally healthy individuals.
The study found that 87% of posts promoting the tests mentioned benefits, while only 15% discussed potential harms. Only 6% of posts mentioned the risk of overdiagnosis, and a staggering 68% of influencers had financial interests in promoting the test. Medical doctors were slightly more balanced in their posts, but still failed to adequately address the risks.
The researchers are calling for stronger regulation to prevent misleading information from being created and shared on social media platforms. They note that social media platforms like Instagram are moving away from fact-checking, leaving users vulnerable to misinformation.
If you come across a post about a medical test promoted by an influencer that sounds too good to be true, it probably is. The public needs to be aware of the potential risks and harms associated with these tests, especially for healthy individuals.
Source: https://www.sciencealert.com/we-analyzed-what-tiktok-says-about-medical-tests-and-got-a-nasty-shock