Medier, medicin og medikalisering

Danske avisers dækning af debatten om kolesterolsænkende medicin

Abstract

Since 2000, prescription cholesterol-lowering drugs, also called statins, have become increasingly commonly prescribed. This article is interested in the presence of the cholesterol debate in the media and considers whether the media can be attributed a role in how cholesterol-lowering drugs have been accepted as standard offerings by both doctors and lay people. Based on a content analysis of the cholesterol debate in Danish, nationwide printed newspapers in the period 2000-2017, the article points out that the coverage of statins has had the newspapers' attention throughout the study period, with an increase in the number of articles in the latter half of the period from 2009- 2017. The analysis also shows that the newspapers B.T. and Ekstra Bladet has been responsible for the majority of the coverage from 2009-2017, and that a majority of articles conveyed a positive attitude towards statins. Both the presence and absence of such a media debate can have an impact on people's attitude and behavior in relation to the risk of the disease high cholesterol, and the debate can potentially contribute to the trend towards 'medicalisation', i.e. medical intervention at risk of disease.