The Illusion of Certainty Health Benefits and Risks /

• Main Authors: Rifkin, Erik (Author), Bouwer, Edward (Author)
• Corporate Author: SpringerLink (Online service)
• Format: Electronic eBook
• Language: English
• Published: Boston, MA : Springer US, 2007.
• Subjects: Medicine.; Public health.; Health.; Environmental management.; Medicine & Public Health.; Public Health.; Popular Science in Medicine and Health.; Medicine/Public Health, general.; Environmental Management.

The Illusion of Certainty: Health Benefits and Risks peels away the "veneer of certainty" which many of us attach to health risk and benefit information given to us in our daily lives. It was written and designed primarily to assist the public in comprehending and interpreting the uncertai...

Table of Contents:

• The Basics
• The Illusion of Certainty
• Cause and Effect vs. Risk Factors
• Reframing the Debate
• Assessing Human Health Risks from Environmental Contaminants
• The Sources of Uncertainty
• Case Studies
• VioxxTM and Heart Attacks
• Prostate Cancer Screening
• Elevated Cholesterol: A Primary Risk Factor for Heart Disease?
• Statins, Cholesterol, and Coronary Heart Disease
• Colorectal Cancer Screening
• Health Effects of Smoking
• Chlorination of Drinking Water and Health Risks
• Exposure to Residential Radon and the Risk of Lung Cancer
• Ecological Risk Assessment
• Asian Oysters in the Chesapeake Bay
• Chromium and Sediment Toxicity
• Perspectives
• The Physician's and Patient's Perspective
• Acceptable Health Benefits and Risks.