Alan Simpson: “The IOM, the Institute of Medicine, said there is "limited suggestive evidence" of an association between exposure of a…”

“The IOM, the Institute of Medicine, said there is "limited suggestive evidence" of an association between exposure of a father and spina bifida. That is largely based on the Air Force Ranch Hand study. The study found that three Ranch Hand children were born with spina bifida. Do not stop there. The same study also found that the total rate for birth defects in Ranch Handers is comparable to that of the control group. How is that possible? Well, it is quite logical, because when statisticians break aggregate or average data down into its component parts, individual values start to spread out away from the norm. So it is with the Ranch Hand children. For example, while the Ranch Hand spina bifida value is high, the Ranch Hand cleft palate value is low--zero in fact. The low value for cleft palate does not mean that agent orange prevents cleft palate any more than the high value for spina bifida means that agent orange causes that birth defect or even there is an association between the two. I remember an old phrase that said, "If you torture data long enough with statistics, they will eventually confess." And that is what has happened here.”