One self-evident advantage of bringing a lot more data to the table about the health and wellbeing of an individual is that it’s harder to game.  The importance of this was highlighted by a recent study from the University of Michigan that revealed how many of us lie when we communicate with our doctor.

The findings go beyond merely lying about our diet or amount of exercise we get, with around a third of us also keeping quiet when we disagree with the recommendations our doctors give us or when we don’t understand them.

“While the idea that patients may not share everything with their clinicians is perhaps to be expected, we were surprised at how common it appears to be for patients to withhold information or beliefs,” the authors say.

Accurate information

The findings echo those from a previous study that found that people prefer their doctors to be reflective of the general population (ie as unfit and unhealthy as we are rather than healthy role models), and again here, the factor underpinning the findings is that we just want not to be judged or lectured by our doctor, hence why we hide behaviors we know are not ideal.

The findings emerged from an online survey that featured responses from over 4,500 people from across the age spectrum.  Each participant was presented with a number of scenarios whereby the patient might feel inclined to hide behaviors from their doctor, before being asked if they had personally done any of them themselves.

Interestingly, respondents who were female, relatively young and who reported being in poor health were much more likely to hide important information from their doctor.

“I’m surprised that such a substantial number of people chose to withhold relatively benign information, and that they would admit to it,” the researchers say. “We also have to consider the interesting limitation that survey participants might have withheld information about what they withheld, which would mean that our study has underestimated how prevalent this phenomenon is.”

The importance of accurate information

This has considerable implications, as doctors obviously can’t provide accurate and reliable advice if they’re not party to all of the key facts regarding the situation.

“If patients are withholding information about what they’re eating, or whether they are taking their medication, it can have significant implications for their health—especially if they have a chronic illness,” the authors say.

The researchers hope that their work will lead the way in exploring this issue in more depth and hopefully get to a state where people feel happier owning up to the truth rather than hiding vital information from their doctor.  They’re keen to delve into the issue in more detail, as they strongly suspect that this isn’t merely an issue with the patient, but perhaps the healthcare environment more generally.

“How providers are communicating in certain situations may cause patients to be hesitant to open up,” they conclude. “This raises the question, is there a way to train clinicians to help their patients feel more comfortable? After all, a healthy conversation is a two-way street.”