Extract:
Caffeine and Pregnancy
The health risks of coffee have long been debated, but a recent study has added another argument against too much coffee consumption. This study looked at the effect of drinking coffee on pregnant women. Conducted by physicians at Kaiser Permanente, the study explored the connection between caffeine and the risk of miscarriage.
This study followed more than 1,000 women who became pregnant within a two year period. The amount of caffeine they drank was logged, as well as which women experienced a miscarriage. The results, as published in the January 2008 issue of the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, stated that the risk of miscarriage more than doubled in women who consumed 200 mg or more of caffeine per day, about what is found in two cups of coffee.
Why does caffeine carry this risk? Researchers are not sure, but they theorize that the caffeine restricts blood flow to the placenta. This, in turn, can harm the developing fetus. Does this mean the physicians will start advising women to quit drinking coffee while pregnant? Yes and no. Some doctors will certainly take this report to heart and encourage their patients to stay away from more than one cup of coffee a day, just as they recommend not drinking alcohol or smoking cigarettes. Others are not so convinced and doubt that this single study is enough to overturn the established guidelines of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Instead, they believe that a lot more research needs to be done.
What is the meaning of the word overturn in the last paragraph of the passage?
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A
Justify
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B
Invalidate
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C
Support
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D
Review
In the medical guideline context, overturn means invalidate, to reverse or nullify established recommendations through contradictory evidence.
A) Justify
Justify means provide support, opposite to overturn's meaning of reversal. New evidence overturning guidelines contradicts rather than supports them.
B) Invalidate
Invalidate precisely captures overturn's meaning in regulatory contexts: rendering existing guidelines obsolete or incorrect through new evidence. The passage describes physicians debating whether "this single study is enough to overturn the established guidelines", questioning if evidence suffices to invalidate current recommendations.
C) Support
Support means reinforce, opposite to overturn's reversal connotation. Overturning guidelines replaces rather than strengthens them.
D) Review
Review means examine, preliminary step before potential overturning but not synonymous with reversal itself. Guidelines can be reviewed without being overturned.
Conclusion
Contextual analysis reveals overturn operates as a reversal verb within medical guideline discourse. Only "invalidate" captures this connotation of rendering established recommendations obsolete through contradictory evidence.