Tuesday 24 July 2012

Data viz of the day #1

I'm an avid reader of all things health-related, particularly when it comes to subjects of nutrition and natural health. So this little beauty caught my eye this morning after opening up a Dr Mercola newsletter which popped up in my inbox today. The newsletter contained a link to a recent study by the UK-based Alliance for Natural Health, which looked at the relative risk of death from a diverse set of hazards such as drowning, car accidents and being struck lightning. Crucially though, this bubble chart shows that adverse reactions to pharmaceuticals are 62,000 times more likely to kill you than food supplements. From a personal perspective though, that scuba diving bubble concerns me somewhat, being a scuba diver myself, eek! Anyway, I digress..... This information, while perhaps not a shock, sits uncomfortably for me as not only is there a relatively high societal risk of fatalities from pharmaceuticals, but also a high individual risk, simply because of the sheer volume of pharmaceuticals that are prescribed each year, which links neatly to my Infographic #1.


Do check out the ANH website for more details, its full of fascinating data.

1 comment:

  1. Interesting post - aside from the links to pharmaceutical fatalities, this infographic really helps little old anxious me get my worries into perspective!

    I was once prescribed 6 lots of antibiotics in a year and felt awful because of it - haven't taken any for two years now and all of the side effects AND the repeated ear infections are now gone....too many medicines I think!

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