Here is another bicycle scare article, this time in the Daily Mail. These bicycle health studies are so ridiculous:
Middle aged men who spend nine hours a week on their bike are more likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer, new research suggests. A British study of 5,200 cyclists is the biggest research project ever conducted on the health impact of cycling.
It suggests that cyclists in in their 50s who bicycle for more than nine hours a week may be up to five times as likely to receive a diagnosis of prostate cancer.
The team of scientists at University College London, found there was no link between cycling and infertility or erectile problems – an age-old health myth.
There were numerous problems with the study. Here is what the NHS website reports:
Despite these seemingly alarming results, regular cyclists do not need to panic – this type of study cannot prove increased cycling time leads to prostate cancer; it can only prove an association.
Also, the prostate cancer analyses were only carried out on fewer than 42 men, which is only a relatively small sample of men. With such a small sample, it increases the possibility that any association is the result of chance. Most experts would agree that the health benefits of frequent cycling outweigh the risks.
Even worse, the study “participants” self-reported through an online survey.
[…] on the Network today: Systemic Failure says a study that linked cycling to prostate cancer has some serious flaws. The Dallas Morning […]
This sums up the daily mail perfectly.