US child health report cited 'nonexistent studies'
A US government report on the health of American children cited scientific studies that do not exist to support its conclusions, according to a media report and some of the purported study authors.
The report produced by the Make America Healthy Again Commission, named after a movement aligned with Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr, was released last week.
It said processed food, chemicals, stress and overprescription of medications and vaccines may be factors behind chronic illness in American children, citing some 500 research studies as evidence.
Digital news outlet NOTUS reported the citation errors, saying it found seven studies listed in the report's footnotes that did not exist, along with broken links and misstated conclusions.
White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt told reporters that any citation errors were due to "formatting issues."
The government said it posted a corrected version of the report later on Thursday.
"The substance of the MAHA report remains the same - a historic and transformative assessment by the federal government to understand the chronic disease epidemic afflicting our nation's children," the Department of Health and Human Services said.
Katherine Keyes, an epidemiology professor at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, was cited in the report as the author of "Changes in mental health and substance use among US adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic," which the report said was published in the medical journal JAMA Pediatrics.
She said neither she nor the named co-authors of the paper had written it.
"It does make me concerned given that citation practices are an important part of conducting and reporting rigorous science," she said.
Psychiatry Professor Robert L. Findling did not author the article cited in the report as "Direct-to-consumer advertising of psychotropic medications for youth: A growing concern" in the Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology, according to a spokesperson for Virginia Commonwealth University, where Findling is a professor.
Kennedy Jr has spent decades sowing doubt about the safety of vaccines, raising concerns within the scientific and medical communities over the policies he would pursue as health secretary.
Since taking the role, he has fired thousands of workers at federal health agencies and cut billions of dollars from US biomedical research spending.
The studies attributed to Findling and Keyes no longer appeared in the MAHA report on the White House website as of Thursday evening.
A US government report on the health of American children cited scientific studies that do not exist to support its conclusions, according to a media report and some of the purported study authors.
The report produced by the Make America Healthy Again Commission, named after a movement aligned with Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr, was released last week.
It said processed food, chemicals, stress and overprescription of medications and vaccines may be factors behind chronic illness in American children, citing some 500 research studies as evidence.
Digital news outlet NOTUS reported the citation errors, saying it found seven studies listed in the report's footnotes that did not exist, along with broken links and misstated conclusions.
White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt told reporters that any citation errors were due to "formatting issues."
The government said it posted a corrected version of the report later on Thursday.
"The substance of the MAHA report remains the same - a historic and transformative assessment by the federal government to understand the chronic disease epidemic afflicting our nation's children," the Department of Health and Human Services said.
Katherine Keyes, an epidemiology professor at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, was cited in the report as the author of "Changes in mental health and substance use among US adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic," which the report said was published in the medical journal JAMA Pediatrics.
She said neither she nor the named co-authors of the paper had written it.
"It does make me concerned given that citation practices are an important part of conducting and reporting rigorous science," she said.
Psychiatry Professor Robert L. Findling did not author the article cited in the report as "Direct-to-consumer advertising of psychotropic medications for youth: A growing concern" in the Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology, according to a spokesperson for Virginia Commonwealth University, where Findling is a professor.
Kennedy Jr has spent decades sowing doubt about the safety of vaccines, raising concerns within the scientific and medical communities over the policies he would pursue as health secretary.
Since taking the role, he has fired thousands of workers at federal health agencies and cut billions of dollars from US biomedical research spending.
The studies attributed to Findling and Keyes no longer appeared in the MAHA report on the White House website as of Thursday evening.
A US government report on the health of American children cited scientific studies that do not exist to support its conclusions, according to a media report and some of the purported study authors.
The report produced by the Make America Healthy Again Commission, named after a movement aligned with Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr, was released last week.
It said processed food, chemicals, stress and overprescription of medications and vaccines may be factors behind chronic illness in American children, citing some 500 research studies as evidence.
Digital news outlet NOTUS reported the citation errors, saying it found seven studies listed in the report's footnotes that did not exist, along with broken links and misstated conclusions.
White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt told reporters that any citation errors were due to "formatting issues."
The government said it posted a corrected version of the report later on Thursday.
"The substance of the MAHA report remains the same - a historic and transformative assessment by the federal government to understand the chronic disease epidemic afflicting our nation's children," the Department of Health and Human Services said.
Katherine Keyes, an epidemiology professor at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, was cited in the report as the author of "Changes in mental health and substance use among US adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic," which the report said was published in the medical journal JAMA Pediatrics.
She said neither she nor the named co-authors of the paper had written it.
"It does make me concerned given that citation practices are an important part of conducting and reporting rigorous science," she said.
Psychiatry Professor Robert L. Findling did not author the article cited in the report as "Direct-to-consumer advertising of psychotropic medications for youth: A growing concern" in the Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology, according to a spokesperson for Virginia Commonwealth University, where Findling is a professor.
Kennedy Jr has spent decades sowing doubt about the safety of vaccines, raising concerns within the scientific and medical communities over the policies he would pursue as health secretary.
Since taking the role, he has fired thousands of workers at federal health agencies and cut billions of dollars from US biomedical research spending.
The studies attributed to Findling and Keyes no longer appeared in the MAHA report on the White House website as of Thursday evening.
A US government report on the health of American children cited scientific studies that do not exist to support its conclusions, according to a media report and some of the purported study authors.
The report produced by the Make America Healthy Again Commission, named after a movement aligned with Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr, was released last week.
It said processed food, chemicals, stress and overprescription of medications and vaccines may be factors behind chronic illness in American children, citing some 500 research studies as evidence.
Digital news outlet NOTUS reported the citation errors, saying it found seven studies listed in the report's footnotes that did not exist, along with broken links and misstated conclusions.
White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt told reporters that any citation errors were due to "formatting issues."
The government said it posted a corrected version of the report later on Thursday.
"The substance of the MAHA report remains the same - a historic and transformative assessment by the federal government to understand the chronic disease epidemic afflicting our nation's children," the Department of Health and Human Services said.
Katherine Keyes, an epidemiology professor at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, was cited in the report as the author of "Changes in mental health and substance use among US adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic," which the report said was published in the medical journal JAMA Pediatrics.
She said neither she nor the named co-authors of the paper had written it.
"It does make me concerned given that citation practices are an important part of conducting and reporting rigorous science," she said.
Psychiatry Professor Robert L. Findling did not author the article cited in the report as "Direct-to-consumer advertising of psychotropic medications for youth: A growing concern" in the Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology, according to a spokesperson for Virginia Commonwealth University, where Findling is a professor.
Kennedy Jr has spent decades sowing doubt about the safety of vaccines, raising concerns within the scientific and medical communities over the policies he would pursue as health secretary.
Since taking the role, he has fired thousands of workers at federal health agencies and cut billions of dollars from US biomedical research spending.
The studies attributed to Findling and Keyes no longer appeared in the MAHA report on the White House website as of Thursday evening.
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Myles Houlbrook-Walk: In the same aisles of the supermarket where Kumunjai White died, his family today have held a vigil mourning the loss of the 24-year-old Waltbury man. Ned Hargraves: No more. No more! We are saying enough is enough! Hear our words. Myles Houlbrook-Walk: His grandfather, Ned Hargrave, spoke of sorrow for his family and the remote Aboriginal community of Yundamoo in Central Australia where Kumunjai White was from before moving to supported accommodation for his disabilities in Alice Springs. Earlier this week, several senior Waltbury leaders had called for an independent investigation. Ned Hargraves: We want justice for my jaja, my grandson. I'm sure there is another way, another better way of dealing with things, dealing with people. Myles Houlbrook-Walk: Robin Japanagka Granites called for those in the supermarket when Kumunjai White died to come forward to assist the investigation. Robin Japanagka Granites: When we get everyone together, we need everyone to tell us what had happened. The truth will tell us and get us all back to normal. And in a normal way, we will talk to each other and tell us what can we do about it. Myles Houlbrook-Walk: There's been limited detail so far about the nature of the arrest. Northern Territory Police have said the young Waltbury man was placing items down the front of his clothes at the Cole's supermarket in Alice Springs when he was confronted by security guards. Two police officers in plain clothes were in the supermarket at the time and restrained the man. One person who says they were an eyewitness and asked to remain anonymous told the ABC they heard a lot of shouting and a lot of commotion. Opinion: What it was, I can't be sure, but yeah, it looked pretty violent. And then, yeah, they slammed into the ground. There's just like lots of shouting. 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Thalia Anthony: There are concerns in the community about police investigating police. We know for Aboriginal people that has not given them a sense of justice or accountability. And I think the only way to change this record is to do something different. Myles Houlbrook-Walk: She says the nature of the man's arrest, given his disability, needs to be closely examined. Thalia Anthony: Given that he was already under state care, I think it's going to be asked by the coroner, why did he get to this situation where he was in a supermarket allegedly hiding food? And then that triggered not only the security officer to get involved, but also the police to get involved. Myles Houlbrook-Walk: Thalia Anthony pointed to the Royal Commission into Black Deaths in Custody and its findings regarding the importance of independent oversight of police. Thalia Anthony: The 1991 Royal Commission to Aboriginal Deaths in Custody was concerned with reinvestigating 99 Aboriginal deaths in custody because of the flawed nature of police investigating police. And so one of their most strident recommendations was that within 48 hours, an officer attached to the coroner should investigate the root cause of a death in custody. And the imminence of this investigation was essential. Samantha Donovan: Law Professor Thalia Anthony from the University of Technology, Sydney. Myles Houlbrook-Walk, the reporter. This is PM. I'm Samantha Donovan. You can hear all our programs live or later on the ABC Listen app. Ahead, Australians urge to get booster jabs as a new COVID variant sweeps the country. Dr Lara Herrero: It is now really being seen all over the world at various degrees. And there is a bit of a prediction that this might start taking over other strains. So this is why the WHO is saying, oh, we just need to keep an eye on this one. Samantha Donovan: Up to eight people have been detained by Border Protection Authorities after reaching a remote part of the Northern Territory coast by boat. They were found walking near the town of Maningrida, east of Darwin. The ABC understands they're Chinese nationals. Their arrival has set off another stoush between the government and opposition over border security. Andrew Green is the ABC's Defence Correspondent. Andrew, what can you tell us about these people who've arrived in Australia? Andrew Greene: These details have started emerging in perhaps the past 24 hours or so, but what we have established is that earlier this week on Tuesday, authorities in a remote part of the Northern Territory in Arnhem Land, around 500 kilometres east of Darwin, were alerted to the presence of a group of men believed to be from China who had made their way onto the Australian mainland in a very remote part of the northern coast of Australia. But they were detected and then apprehended by authorities. And then a day later, another two men, also believed to have come to Australia from China originally, were spotted by some local rangers and they too, we understand, are now in the custody of the Australian Border Force, but their precise location is not known. Samantha Donovan: Have the authorities had much to say about their arrival, Andrew? Andrew Greene: Following their usual course of action, they've said very little. In fact, in a statement, the Australian Border Force tells the ABC that it does not either confirm or deny operations or comment on them. But what we have established is that authorities are yet to locate a boat that may have taken these people to Australia. Now that points to a few things. It suggests that perhaps they were dropped off close to the mainland by perhaps even an Indonesian fishing vessel or by another party that's brought them to Australia. Apart from that though, very little known. We know that it's up to eight individuals who are, we believe most of them are from China, but that is of course not confirmed by the authorities. Samantha Donovan: And what's been the reaction from politicians? Andrew Greene: Well, the newly appointed Shadow Home Affairs Minister, Andrew Hastie, has said that this is another example of the underinvestment by the Albanese government in border protection. The fact that a boat carrying unauthorised arrivals had made it to the Australian mainland. And in response to that, the Home Affairs Minister, Tony Burke, took aim at his new opposition counterpart. And he said that two days into the job, Andrew Hastie had already helped the cause of people smugglers by making those comments. So while not officially commenting on whether the arrivals had happened at all, Tony Burke did take a swing at his opponent. Samantha Donovan: Andrew Greene is the ABC's Defence Correspondent. A new strain of COVID-19 is surging in Australia and accounting for a large portion of cases across the country. Called NB 1.8.1, the variant is now the dominant strain in China and Hong Kong. Medical experts say it's a timely reminder for people here to get their booster vaccines. Kimberly Price has more. Kimberley Price: While many Australians will have thought COVID-19 was a thing of the past, a new variant of the virus has been detected across Australia and abroad. Dr Lara Herrero is a virologist at Griffith University. Dr Lara Herrero: So our new variant is NB 1.8.1, that's a mouthful and aren't all these variants named ridiculously I have to say. Kimberley Price: The World Health Organisation has declared the strain a variant under monitoring after it was first detected in January. Dr Herrero says NB 1.8.1 is now the dominant variant in China and Hong Kong. Dr Lara Herrero: It is now really being seen all over the world at various degrees and there is a bit of a prediction that this might start taking over other strains but this is early days for that so we'll just have to wait and see how that goes. But the new variant has come from a long range of lines and it's a descendant of JN1 which is what our current vaccines are actually made of. Kimberley Price: And it's made an impact here in Australia. Currently, the new variant makes up more than 40% of total COVID cases tested in Victoria. It's about 25% in Western Australia and New South Wales, about 20% in Queensland and less than 10% in South Australia. More than five years on from the declaration of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr Herrero says there are still regular infections. Dr Lara Herrero: We've got particular mutations that are in the spike protein that seems to be making it easier for this virus to attach to our cells and it seems to be making this virus evade our antibodies a little bit better. So this is why the WHO are saying we just need to keep an eye on this one. Kimberley Price: The mutation of COVID-19 is not a new phenomenon. Professor Paul Griffin is the Director of Infectious Diseases at Mater Health Services in Brisbane. Prof Paul Griffin: This is what COVID has done many times and will keep doing. It's changed again and this new sub-variant has some properties that are a little bit concerning. We've seen cases go up potentially as a result. So it's really a timely reminder that we can't just forget about COVID. It's not over and we need to keep doing the good things we did for a little while to protect each other so we get this under control again. Kimberley Price: Early reports show NB1.8.1 has a high infection rate, but existing vaccines are effective against it and it can be detected through home and lab test kits. Prof Paul Griffin: This new sub-variant, whilst different in terms of protection from immunity, still is able to be detected by our current testing. So you can get a rapid antigen test at home that will find COVID as well as flu and RSV. Keep in mind though that at home tests aren't quite as good as a lab-based test. So if you have symptoms and your RAT is negative, still consider getting a laboratory-based test. Kimberley Price: However, in the past six months, less than 7% of adults have received a COVID vaccine according to federal data. Prof Paul Griffin: There was a new COVID booster that came out late last year and that looks to still provide excellent protection against this new sub-variant. So it's still going to keep working really well. The single biggest thing that determines what sort of symptoms you get or how sick you are is whether you're vaccinated or not. Kimberley Price: Health Minister Mark Butler is encouraging everyone to roll up their sleeves and get a booster shot. Mark Butler: I do encourage, particularly as we head into winter, for people to think about the last time they got a COVID vaccine. If it's more than six months since you had your last booster, if you're 65 to 74, if it's more than 12 months, and for everyone else, have a serious think. I've just got my booster over the last couple of weeks and I think that puts me in a good position. Kimberley Price: For Melbourne woman Maddy Ruskin, a new variant of COVID-19 is worrying. Maddy Ruskin: COVID can affect people regardless if they have pre-existing issues or not. So it makes me worried about the future of people's health because I wouldn't want anyone to end up like what I've been through. Kimberley Price: Maddy Ruskin has been chronically ill since she was 15 years old, but contracting COVID-19 in 2022 changed everything for her. Maddy Ruskin: I was experiencing symptoms that I'd never had before, developed allergies that I'd never had before, and my quality of life has really plummeted. It's been a really hard adjustment. I was used to being sick, but this is pretty severe. Kimberley Price: Now living with long COVID, Maddy Ruskin hopes more people think about their health by wearing a mask and getting booster vaccines. Maddy Ruskin: Don't risk your life. Don't risk the life that you enjoy living because just one infection, I only had one infection and just one infection can completely change your life. Kimberley Price: COVID-19 vaccines are free for all people in Australia, including those without a Medicare card. Samantha Donovan: Kimberly Price. And that's PM for this week. Thanks to producers David Sparkes and Gavin Coote. Technical production by Joram Toth, Nick Dracoulis and David Sergent. I'm Samantha Donovan. I hope you have a happy and safe weekend. Good night.
