In the book “The Art of Statistics” by David Spiegelhalter, the author discusses a statement mentioned in chapter 4 that has caused fear and curiosity among university-going students.
The statement suggested that higher education is linked to an increased rate of being diagnosed with a brain tumor. However, upon further investigation, it was found that Scandinavian countries are ideal for epidemiological studies because of the personal identity number assigned to every citizen that links healthcare, education, and tax records.
A study was conducted on over 4 million Swedish men and women, which found that men with higher socioeconomic positions had a slightly increased rate of being diagnosed with a brain tumor. However, it is important to note that the study’s authors acknowledged that the completeness of cancer registration and detection bias are potential explanations for the findings.
Additionally, they emphasized that the results do not necessarily suggest that higher education causes brain tumors. Unfortunately, a university communications officer exaggerated the study results and made false claims that high levels of education are linked to heightened brain tumor risk. This led to a misleading newspaper headline that read “Why Going to University Increases the Risk of Getting a Brain Tumor,” which caused panic and alarm among the public.