Press announcements that run out of control have been known to cause a few palpitations among academics whose research is under the spotlight. So publication of results linking folic acid and stroke, thrombosis and heart disease seemed destined to set scientific pulses racing.

Dr Ross Taylor, from the University of Aberdeen, who led the study with Professor Michael Golden, readily admits he was initially apprehensive about promoting the project in the Press. But by the end of the experience he had changed his mind.

The study, which involved around 300 men and women aged 65-74 years, discovered that the elderly need high levels of folate to reduce homocysteine, an amino acid that can precipitate vascular disease.

A copy of the final report had also been sent to the Wellcome Trust, which funded the research, and this was passed to its Media Office with the authors' comments that the study could have "very major public health implications" highlighted.

After consulting Dr Taylor and Professor Golden to ensure they would be happy to publicise the report, a draft press release was drawn up. Professor Golden had pointed out it was the elderly who bore the brunt of cardiovascular problems. By alleviating this situation you would not only obviously improve their lives but also save the health service a lot of money.

To give the report extra impact the Media Office gathered more details, including:

• latest Government-recommended levels of folic acid intake, which were three times lower than those being suggested by the study;
• Department of Health figures confirming that those over 65 years made up just one in six of the population but consumed 39 per cent of the health budget;
• in 2000 heart disease killed nearly 28 000 people aged 65-74 years in the UK;
• Dr Taylor also estimated the cost of taking folate in tablet form to be around £10 per person per year - not very expensive.

Most of these facts could have been dug out by journalists writing the story but providing as much detail and evidence as possible in one document will always increase the likelihood of securing media coverage.

The press release bounced around a few times between Professor Golden, Dr Taylor and myself, and there were protracted discussions about taking out jargon and getting the phraseology and figures right.

After a couple of weeks the release was agreed. It outlined the need for the elderly to increase folate intake carefully, with a caveat that too much could cause nerve damage, so vitamin B12 fortification might also be required.

The release was picked up extensively and ran throughout 6 March 2002 on BBC TV News. It also made the Radio 4 Today programme plus around 20 regional radio news stations. The story was carried in a range of publications from the Daily Mail and the Scotsman to Active Life and Good Housekeeping.

For Dr Taylor it was a refreshing change: "My apprehension was based on previous experience where there has been a tendency to distort or mis-report findings. But on this occasion we managed to obtain very widespread and relatively accurate coverage. The end result was excellent in that the public were made aware of the important policy issues arising from our research. I am in favour of having a better dialogue with the public and this has shown how well it can be done."

Preparation was invaluable, he suggests: "I think the key to this was the fact the Media Office spent time gaining a good understanding of the subject, allowing them to control the publicity. This paid off handsomely and the Wellcome Trust, the university and ourselves will benefit from that public credit. There could also be academic gains because this has stimulated us to look at carrying on our work even though Professor Golden has retired."

See also

• Press release (6 March 2002): Heart risk for elderly
• Wellcome News Q3 2002: Polyptych article about science editorials entitled Quirks, strangeness and charm

External links

• Dr Ross Taylor at the University of Aberdeen: Research interests
• The effect of folic acid supplementation on plasma homocysteine in an elderly population: Article summary from Oxford Journal Online