Journal Club with Dr. Peter Attia | Metformin for Longevity & The Power of Belief Effects

About this video

In the first Huberman-Attia journal club, Dr. Peter Attia and Huberman critique two papers the way graduate and medical students do in a journal club, asking whether each paper shows what it claims. Dr. Attia discusses a paper on metformin for longevity, comparing it with previous findings such as the Bannister study and walking through successive statistical adjustments for medications, marital status, and education, as well as twin analyses and analyses with and without censoring. He questions how much of the apparent mortality difference reflects diabetes itself versus the drug. Huberman then presents a paper on belief effects, which he says shows the placebo effect can follow a dose response, scaling with whether people think they are taking low, moderate, or high doses, using nicotine as the drug discussed.

Key takeaways

• Dr. Attia critiques a metformin paper by comparing adjusted and unadjusted models and twin analyses.
• Dr. Attia questions whether mortality differences reflect diabetes itself or metformin.
• Huberman presents research he says shows placebo effects can follow a dose response.
• Huberman notes the belief-effects paper discussed nicotine and cognitive enhancement.
• Huberman explains a journal club compares readers’ conclusions with the authors’ conclusions.

Episode details: published September 11, 2023 · 335.2K views · 2:21:19 long. Summary written by Self Growth Videos from the episode itself. The science and protocols described are Andrew Huberman’s, presented for education — not medical advice. Consult a qualified professional before changing your own health practices.

← Previous: Dr. Paul Conti: How to Understand & Assess Your Mental Health | Huberman Lab Guest Series · Next: Dr. Paul Conti: How to Improve Your Mental Health | Huberman Lab Guest Series →

All Andrew Huberman videos · Andrew Huberman profile · Huberman Lab (official site)