About the Journal:
The Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons is not listed in major academic literature databases such as MEDLINE/PubMed[45] nor the Web of Science.[46] The U.S. National Library of Medicine declined repeated requests from AAPS to index the journal, citing unspecified concerns.[1] Articles and commentaries published in the journal have argued a number of non-mainstream or scientifically discredited claims,[1] including:
that human activity has not contributed to climate change, and that global warming will be beneficial and thus not a cause for concern;[47]
that HIV does not cause AIDS;[48][49]
that the "gay male lifestyle" shortens life expectancy by 20 years.[50]
A series of articles by pro-life authors published in the journal argued for a link between abortion and breast cancer.[51][52] Such a link has been rejected by the scientific community, including the U.S. National Cancer Institute,[53] the American Cancer Society,[54] and the World Health Organization,[55] among other major medical bodies.[56]
A 2003 paper published in the journal, claiming that vaccination was harmful, was criticized for poor methodology, lack of scientific rigor, and outright errors by the World Health Organization[57] and the American Academy of Pediatrics.[58] A National Public Radio piece mentioned inaccurate information published in the Journal and said: "The journal itself is not considered a leading publication, as it's put out by an advocacy group that opposes most government involvement in medical care."[59]
The Journal has also published articles advocating politically and socially conservative policy positions[citation needed], including:
that the Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services are unconstitutional;[60]
that "humanists" have conspired to replace the "creation religion of Jehovah" with evolution;[61]
that "anchor babies" are valuable to undocumented immigrants, particularly if the babies are disabled.[1]
Quackwatch lists JPandS as an untrustworthy, non-recommended periodical.[62] An editorial in Chemical & Engineering News described JPandS as a "purveyor of utter nonsense."[63] Investigative journalist Brian Deer wrote that the journal is the "house magazine of a right-wing American fringe group [AAPS]" and "is barely credible as an independent forum."[64]
Leprosy error[edit source | editbeta]
In a 2005 article published in the Journal, Madeleine Cosman argued that illegal immigrants were carriers of disease, and that immigrants and "anchor babies" were launching a "stealthy assault on [American] medicine."[65] In the article, Cosman claimed that "Suddenly, in the past 3 years America has more than 7,000 cases of leprosy" because of illegal aliens.[65] The journal's leprosy claim was cited and repeated by Lou Dobbs as evidence of the dangers of illegal immigration.[59][66]
However, publicly available statistics show that the 7,000 cases of leprosy occurred during the past 30 years, not the past three as Cosman claimed.[67] James L. Krahenbuhl, director of the U.S. government's leprosy program, stated that there had been no significant increase in leprosy cases, and that "It [leprosy] is not a public health problem—that’s the bottom line."[66] National Public Radio reported that the Journal article "had footnotes that did not readily support allegations linking a recent rise in leprosy rates to illegal immigrants."[59] The article's erroneous leprosy claim was pointed out by 60 Minutes,[68] National Public Radio,[59] and the New York Times[66] but has not been corrected by the Journal.[citation needed]
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