Podcast Summary: Rena Malik, MD Podcast
Episode: Why Full Body MRI Scans Are a Dangerous Waste of Money for Most People
Date: December 19, 2025
Host: Dr. Rena Malik
Guest: Dr. Matthew Davenport, Service Chief & Vice Chair of Radiology, Michigan Medicine

Episode Overview

This episode tackles the growing popularity of commercial "full body MRI" scans, especially hyped by celebrities and influencers, and examines their risks, benefits, and misconceptions. Dr. Rena Malik is joined by Dr. Matthew Davenport, a leading expert in radiology and imaging policy, to break down why these tests can harm more than help the average person, the difference between screening and diagnostic imaging, and what truly creates value for your health.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. What Is a Full Body MRI and Why Are They Trending?

• Definition: Full body MRI scans image a person from head to toe, mainly to find hidden diseases like aneurysms or cancer.
• Common Misconception: Many believe early detection is always beneficial.
• Dr. Davenport: "The reason why it's a little bit of a problem is because whole body MRI, when performed in an average risk patient population... you end up detecting an overwhelmingly large amount of things that wouldn't otherwise help you to detect them." [03:46]
• Incidental Findings & Overdiagnosis: Most findings do not improve health outcomes but lead to a cascade of follow-up tests, biopsies, or even surgeries.

2. Who Actually Benefits from Full Body MRI?

• High-Risk Populations: Certain genetic syndromes like Li Fraumeni or Von Hippel Lindau syndrome justify this type of screening, as their pretest probability of serious disease is high.
• General Public: For most people, the risks of unnecessary investigation outweigh any potential benefit.
• Quote: "There are no studies that show that doing whole body MRI in a general risk population increases the length of your life or increases the quality of your life." [07:34]

3. Real-World Harms of Overdiagnosis & Cascade of Care

• Anecdote: Dr. Davenport shares a real story of a woman whose shoulder MRI revealed a lung nodule, resulting in a year's worth of invasive procedures, an unnecessary hysterectomy, psychological trauma, and no meaningful disease found. [19:07–22:34]
• "Cascade of Care": One incidental finding can trigger endless downstream testing.
• Memorable Quote: "Once you get on the train, you can't get off the train... For about a year of their life, they were terrified they were going to die of metastatic disease." [22:34]

4. Screening Biases & Evidence-Based Guidelines

• Screening Biases:
  • Lead Time Bias: Detecting disease earlier makes survival seem longer, even if outcome is unchanged.
  • Length Bias: Screening is more likely to find slow-growing, harmless disease (overdiagnosis) than aggressive, deadly forms.
• Evidence vs. Anecdote: Comprehensive randomized trials only support very specific screenings (e.g., colon, prostate, breast, lung cancer under certain conditions).

5. MRI vs. CT vs. PET: How Are They Different?

• MRI: No ionizing radiation, excels at soft tissue imaging, generally safer.
• CT & PET: Use ionizing radiation and can have contrast agents with more direct risks.

6. Psychological Impact & "Scanxiety"

• Quantified Harm: 10–30% of patients experience significant anxiety after incidental findings or awaiting results.
• Quote: "You end up getting converted from a walkie talkie person into a patient overnight. And once you become a patient, you can't undo that." [44:40]

7. What’s Better Than an Unnecessary MRI? (Practical Advice)

• Invest in Proven Prevention:
  • Hire a personal trainer, engage a dietitian, quit smoking, and do evidence-based screenings.
  • "If I had $2,500 to throw around, I'd literally hire a personal trainer and a dietitian and that is going to prevent so much of my disease in my life." [25:21]
• Follow Evidence: Screening for colon, prostate, breast cancer, and other conditions only when guidelines recommend it.

8. Profit Motive and Medical Advice

• For-Profit Models:
  • Most full body MRI companies are not run or endorsed by doctors.
  • The lack of insurance coverage is not due to lack of data—it’s due to negative evidence or harm.

9. When Are Calcium Scans Useful?

• Selective Use: Coronary artery calcium scoring can be a valuable screening for select at-risk populations, but not everyone.
• Every Test Has Consequences: Even “harmless” tests when not indicated can cause unnecessary radiation exposure and additional incidental findings.

10. Imaging Quality & Choosing Where to Get Scans

• Variation in Practices: Many freestanding imaging centers do not track outcomes or quality.
• Advice: Ask if radiologists are specialized, if the site tracks its outcomes, and if equipment is modern.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Overdiagnosis in Thyroid Cancer:
  “You end up with this tidal wave of detection of cancers... And only in retrospect, you say, actually we didn't help. What we ended up doing was we caused a ton of unnecessary surgeries.” [12:01–15:26]

• On Harms of Whole Body MRI:
  “The average patient is more likely to be hurt than helped actually by this technique, most likely.” [06:04]

• On Psychological Harm:
  “There's this phrase called ‘scanxiety’ ... It can psychologically torture you in a way to be dealing with this uncertainty.” [44:40]

• On Where to Spend Your Health Money:
  “If I had $2,500... I'd hire a personal trainer and a dietitian.” [25:21]

• On What Matters in Imaging:
  “I thought that it was enough to make a diagnosis, it was enough to write the diagnosis on my radiology report. That was enough, and that is not enough.” [77:57]

Key Timestamps

| Timestamp | Segment/Topic | |-----------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 03:46 | Full body MRI basics, risks, and overdiagnosis | | 07:34 | No evidence of mortality/quality of life benefit in general population | | 12:01 | Example: Thyroid cancer overdiagnosis and unnecessary surgeries | | 19:07 | Story: Cascade of care from an incidental nodule | | 22:45 | Screening biases: length bias, lead time bias, overdiagnosis | | 25:21 | Best health investment: personal trainer, dietitian, proven screenings | | 44:40 | Psychological impact and “scanxiety” quantified | | 54:26 | Prostate MRI: value in detecting higher-risk cancers | | 61:38 | Difficulties of evaluating imaging center quality | | 64:13 | No public quality score for radiology, how to ask about site quality | | 65:04 | AI’s role and its limits in radiology | | 77:57 | Lessons learned: True value in imaging is improving health outcomes | | 81:35 | Defining value in radiology: outcomes vs. cost | | 85:01 | Importance of individualized risk/benefit discussions | | 86:16 | Dr. Davenport’s informed consent script for full body MRI |

Practical Takeaways

• Full body MRIs are NOT recommended for average-risk people. The risk of harm, unnecessary procedures, and psychological distress far outweighs the tiny chance of early detection helping.
• If you’re going to spend money on health optimization, invest in exercise, nutrition, quitting smoking, and evidence-based screenings.
• Trust in evidence-based guidelines, not fear or anecdotes.
• Beware of “finding something” — discovering an incidental finding is more likely to lead to anxiety, further testing, and harm than saved lives for low-risk individuals.
• Imaging is not risk-free: every test carries the risk of a cascade of follow-ups and even overtreatment.
• Quality and specialization matter in imaging; ask questions about who is interpreting your scans.
• Psychological harm from incidental findings and “scanxiety” is common and should not be underestimated.

Resources & Further Reading

• ACR Manual on Contrast Media
• Dr. Davenport’s research:
  • “Incidental Findings and Low Value Care”
  • “What evidence do you need to justify additional imaging?” (NEJM Evidence)
• Weiser Center for Prostate Cancer (link)
• Dr. Davenport on Spotify/Amazon Music (search: "Matthew Davenport")

Closing Reflections & Host/Guest Life Insights

• Dr. Davenport: Now sees health care as a calling and emphasizes focusing on patient value, not just diagnoses.
• Life Hacks: Packing lunch and choosing a distant parking spot to build healthy habits by default.
• Final Advice: “Set yourself up for success so that your future self has no choice but to make a healthy decision.” [96:15]

Episode in a Sentence:
Full body MRI scans for most people are a dangerous and expensive trap—what helps most is investing in proven prevention, understanding what imaging can and can’t deliver, and prioritizing real value in health care over chasing peace of mind through unnecessary tests.