Re: web based health studies

Spike Jones (spike66@ibm.net)
Wed, 30 Sep 1998 23:23:04 -0700

Dennis Roberts wrote:

> > dennis, is it possible to add this as an experiment to your website? spike
>
> Thought you'd never ask! Why yes Spike, the idea of an ongoing medical survey
> is one I had considered myself and I have already begun some preliminary
> work....

> ...are implicated in renal stones--soft drinks and tea to name two...

thanks for the info dennis. the tea bags and sodas just went into the trash. i now realize the weakness of my own idea of starting a two-question web survey for renal stones and coffee consumption: before june, i would never have had the slightest interest in the subject, and so would never have gone to the website. but since ---> the incident <---- anything on the subject of kidney stones has my complete and undivided.

healthy people will not bother with these websites. {8-[ because we would be inadvertently preselecting those who have suffered, we would get an overwhelming signal linking kidney stones to everything: coffee, tea, soda, extropians, web surfing, everything.

this has been a fascinating and educational query however. i have a new appreciation for the difficulties of the medics. {8^D spike