When Social Media Misleads Patients
Kim Kardashian recently posted about getting a full-body MRI, calling it “life-saving” and a way to detect diseases before symptoms arise. What she didn’t mention is that there’s no evidence this scan benefits healthy people—nor did she acknowledge the risks of false alarms, unnecessary diagnoses, and even harmful treatments.
A recent study published in JAMA Network Open analyzed nearly 1,000 Instagram and TikTok posts about five popular medical tests frequently marketed as essential for healthy individuals. The findings were alarming: most posts were misleading, exaggerating benefits while downplaying or ignoring potential harms. The tests included:
- Full-body MRI scans – Marketed as a way to detect up to 500 conditions, including cancer, these scans often lead to false positives, triggering unnecessary biopsies, surgeries, and anxiety. Despite their appeal, there is no proven benefit of routine full-body MRIs in healthy individuals.
- Multi-cancer early detection blood tests – Often touted as the “holy grail” of cancer screening, these tests claim to detect over 50 cancers from a simple blood sample. However, clinical trials are still ongoing, and there’s no solid evidence that their benefits outweigh the risks of overdiagnosis and overtreatment.
- Testosterone testing in healthy men – Direct-to-consumer testosterone tests have become increasingly popular, leading many men to undergo unnecessary screening and even unwarranted testosterone replacement therapy (TRT)—despite no strong evidence supporting its routine use in healthy individuals.
- The “egg timer” AMH test – This anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) test is often falsely promoted as a fertility predictor. While it can provide insights in fertility clinic settings, it cannot accurately predict natural conception or menopause timing. Despite this, many women are driven to unnecessary and costly fertility treatments based on misleading claims.
The study found that 87% of social media posts about these tests focused on their benefits, while only 15% mentioned potential risks. Only 6% of posts cited scientific evidence, while 34% relied on personal stories to promote the tests. 68% of influencers had financial ties to the tests, including sponsorships, partnerships, or direct sales. This wave of misinformation is fueling overdiagnosis, encouraging people to seek out screenings that offer no proven benefit while exposing them to unnecessary medical interventions, increased anxiety, and wasted healthcare resources...Read More
What’s the most absurd or unnecessary test a patient has ever requested—just because they saw it on social media or the internet?
