John Ioannidis reported in 2005 that most published medical research findings are false. 1 His statistical analysis and logic are impeccable and his paper has never been seriously refuted. Furthermore, he has had a tremendous impact: the paper has been viewed more than 2.5 million times.
In 2009, Dr. Marcia Angell, former editor of the New England Journal of Medicine, wrote that, “It is simply no longer possible to believe much of the clinical research that is published, or to rely on the judgment of trusted physicians or authoritative medical guidelines. I take no pleasure in this conclusion, which I reached slowly and reluctantly over my two decades as an editor.” 2