HoldsUp

Charles Raison

University of Wisconsin-Madison

Charles Raison, M.D., is a professor at the School of Human Ecology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Founding Director of the Center for Compassion Studies at the University of Arizona. His research examines the relationships between inflammation, stress, and the development of depression. His published work focuses on interventions for major depressive disorder and mental well-being, including whole-body hyperthermia, psilocybin-assisted therapy, and compassion-centered practices.

68 claims checked on air: 2 context 7 overstated 50 supported 9 unverified 7 flagged

What they said on air - flagged

3 citing their own research

0:06:41overstatedmoderateDr. Charles Raison on Depression, the Immune-Brain Interface

Iron supplementation during infection increases mortality, and children given iron in high-pathogen developing areas are significantly more likely to die of infection.

"And there's all sorts of data showing that, for instance, iron supplementation kills you if you're infected, or kids that are given iron in high-pathogen Third World areas are much more likely to die of infection." (said at 0:06:41)

The claim is an overstatement of findings from pediatric nutrition trials in malaria-endemic regions. The landmark 2006 Pemba trial in Zanzibar (over 24,000 children) found that routine daily iron and folic acid supplementation was associated with a 12% increased risk of the composite outcome of hospital admission or death (RR 1.12, 95% CI 1.02–1.23), primarily in iron-replete children in high-malaria settings lacking routine infection management. However, mortality alone was not statistically significantly increased (15% non-significant elevation, 95% CI -7% to 41%). Furthermore, comprehensive Cochrane systematic reviews and meta-analyses across dozens of randomized trials show that oral iron supplementation results in little to no significant difference in all-cause mortality (RR 1.15, 95% CI 0.76–1.74 for iron alone; RR 1.13, 95% CI 0.90–1.42 for iron plus folic acid). While safety concerns led public health guidelines to recommend targeting iron to iron-deficient individuals rather than universal untargeted supplementation in high-malaria zones without adequate medical care, the evidence does not show that iron supplementation 'kills you' or makes children 'much more likely to die of infection.'

0:08:38overstatedlowDr. Charles Raison on Depression, the Immune-Brain Interface

Prior to 10,000 years ago, hominids and humans predominantly died from physical trauma rather than epidemic crowd infections like smallpox, measles, and malaria.

"if you look at the things that killed hominids and human beings before about 10,000 years ago, they were largely not the infectious agents that killed us across history, right? So most people died of things like malaria and smallpox and measles—these horrible crowd infections—over the last 10,000 years, since the invention of agriculture. Before that, most people died from trauma." (said at 0:08:38)

The speaker correctly identifies that epidemic 'crowd infections' (such as smallpox and measles) largely arose and proliferated following the agricultural transition (~10,000 years ago) due to higher population densities and animal domestication. However, the assertion that pre-agricultural humans 'predominantly died from physical trauma' rather than illness or other infectious processes is overstated. In modern and prehistoric hunter-gatherer demographic and bioarchaeological analyses, non-epidemic infectious illnesses (such as acute respiratory infections, gastrointestinal diseases, and parasite- or pathogen-related sepsis) remain leading causes of mortality across the lifespan alongside trauma, predation, and violence, rather than trauma being the sole predominant cause.

0:11:30overstatedlowDr. Charles Raison on Depression, the Immune-Brain Interface

A pro-inflammatory MTHFR gene variant associated with depression risk is linked to increased survival against hepatitis B in sub-Saharan Africa.

"So we think about something like the MTHFR gene, right, that's involved in folate metabolism, right? So there's a form of it that seems to be a depression risk factor. So if you look at what it does immunologically, it is probably pro-inflammatory, and it's strongly associated with increased survival in sub-Saharan Africa because in sub-Saharan Africa, so many people initially die of hepatitis B, and the form of the gene that may be a risk factor for depression is actually protective against that illness." (said at 0:11:30)

Meta-analyses confirm a modest association between the MTHFR C677T polymorphism (T allele) and an increased risk of depression. Regarding hepatitis B, an observational comparative study in West Africa (Togo and Benin) found that the MTHFR 677T allele was associated with reduced odds of persistent chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, lower viral load, and higher anti-HBs antibody persistence. However, describing this as a strong association with increased overall survival against fatal hepatitis B in sub-Saharan Africa overstates the evidence, which comes from a single cross-sectional observational study evaluating markers of viral clearance rather than direct population survival data.

0:35:28overstatedlowDr. Charles Raison on Depression, the Immune-Brain Interface

Hot baths improve autistic symptoms in children.

"And there's some interesting data on hot baths improving autistic symptoms, right? And there's people at Kids in New York, right?" (said at 0:35:28)

The idea that hot baths improve autism spectrum disorder (ASD) symptoms stems from anecdotal and pilot observations exploring whether artificial hyperthermia could mimic the purported "fever effect" in autism. However, evidence demonstrating that hot baths reliably improve autistic symptoms is lacking. Retrospective surveys (such as the Simons Simplex Collection) found parent-reported behavioral improvements during natural fevers in only about 17% of children. Furthermore, prospective studies demonstrate that fever typically worsens emotional, social, and behavioral symptoms in most children with ASD, with consistent behavioral improvements documented in only a very small minority (e.g., ~2%).

0:46:09overstatedmoderateDr. Charles Raison on Depression, the Immune-Brain Interface

Taking NSAIDs during exercise blunts exercise-induced muscle restructuring adaptations in humans.

"Now, there's also a study, interestingly, showing that if you look at the the beneficial effects of exercise on sort of muscle restructuring, this is in humans, if you exercise and take a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory, you get rid of all those good—" (said at 0:46:09)

Human randomized controlled trials show that high daily over-the-counter doses of NSAIDs (such as 1,200 mg/day ibuprofen) attenuate, but do not completely abolish, muscle hypertrophy and strength adaptations to resistance training in young adults. For example, an 8-week trial in young adults found quadriceps hypertrophy increased by 3.7% with daily ibuprofen compared to 7.5% with low-dose aspirin. However, claiming that NSAIDs eliminate all exercise adaptations is an exaggeration. Furthermore, the effect is dose- and population-dependent: lower or intermittent doses (such as 400 mg/day) do not impair hypertrophy in young adults, and in older adults, daily ibuprofen has actually been shown to enhance resistance training-induced muscle hypertrophy and strength gains.

1:09:40overstatedhighDr. Charles Raison on Depression, the Immune-Brain Interface

The human brain accounts for 30% of total energy utilization in the human body.

"these huge brains, which take up 30% of all the energy utilization in our body" (said at 1:09:40)

The adult human brain accounts for approximately 20% of the body's total basal energy and oxygen consumption despite representing only about 2% of total body weight. Stating that the human brain accounts for 30% of total body energy utilization overstates this established physiological proportion.

1:28:28overstatedhighDr. Charles Raison on Depression, the Immune-Brain Interface

Studies demonstrate that among depressed patients who achieve full remission on antidepressants for two years, 60% to 80% relapse within one month if the medication is discontinued rapidly.

"you take people that have been in full remission taking an antidepressant for two years, you take it away, and 60-80% of them will relapse within a month, especially if you stop it quickly." (said at 1:28:28)

While randomized controlled trials confirm that discontinuing antidepressant therapy after long-term use significantly increases the risk of relapse compared to maintenance therapy, the claimed 60% to 80% relapse rate within a single month is substantially overstated. In the landmark ANTLER randomized trial, which evaluated primary care patients in remission after taking antidepressants for 2 years or longer, the cumulative relapse rate in the discontinuation group reached 56% over an entire 52-week (one-year) follow-up period, not within one month. Meta-analyses and discontinuation studies similarly show that while rapid discontinuation increases early relapse risk compared to slow tapering, relapse accumulates over months to years rather than affecting 60% to 80% of patients within four weeks.

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