Reading studies
How a study is counted: who was in it and who left
The small print at the bottom of a health story: how many people, for how long, and how many dropped out along the way.

October 26, 2026 · 6 min
The same result, told three ways, and the words that change between each.

Next issue: Sunday 16 November
One long read on the week's health news, a few short notes and your letters. Free, and it always will be.
Reading studies
The small print at the bottom of a health story: how many people, for how long, and how many dropped out along the way.

The long read
I went back through five hundred issues and marked the ones I would write differently. Here are the best of the worst.