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Targeted Advertising in Medical Journals
As a physician concerned about the influence drug companies have on the medical literature, I read with interest Dr McDonnell's editorial1 in the February 2000 issue of the Archives of Family Medicine. It is reassuring to know that the Archives of Ophthalmology would not feature an article about a product in return for paid advertisement for that product, and I assume that other ARCHIVES journals have similar policies. In the interest of protecting scientific integrity, a journal should also ensure that readers are apprised of any potential conflicts of interest relating to articles published in that journal.
However, in the same issue, Dr Hauptman and colleagues2 published the results of a multicenter study on the use of orlistat to treat obesity, putting a positive spin on some very modest results. I reviewed the ARCHIVES policy on financial disclosure,3 which requires that authors acknowledge financial project support, but I found no such disclosure for that article. Only by e-mailing the lead author was I able to confirm that funding for the study was provided by Hoffman-LaRoche Inc (Nutley, NJ), the manufacturer of orlistat.
There is little point to requiring disclosure of financial support for a study if that information is not passed on to the readers. JAMA and many other journals include this information with the corresponding articles. The credibility of the ARCHIVES would be greatly enhanced by doing so as well.
Neal D. Clemenson, MD
Great Plains Family Practice Residency Program
3500 NW 56th St, Suite 100
Oklahoma City, OK 73112
1. McDonnell PJ. Let the buyer (and reader) beware: targeted advertising in medical journals. Arch Fam Med. 2000;9:125.
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2. Hauptman J, Lucas C, Boldrin MN, Collins H, Segal KR. Orlistat in the long-term treatment of obesity in primary care settings. Arch Fam Med. 2000;9:160-167.
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3. Instructions for authors. Arch Fam Med. 2000;9:94.
In reply
As you noted, our policy is to obtain information from authors regarding potential conflicts of interest. This information is usually listed in the acknowledgment sections of our articles. In the article you are referring to, however, 4 of the 5 authors are listed as employees of Hoffman-LaRoche Inc, which we believed was sufficient disclosure to the readers of the involvement of Hoffman-Laroche Inc.
Marjorie A. Bowman, MD, MPA
Family Practice and Community Medicine
University of Pennsylvania Health System
2 Gates, 3400 Spruce St
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Arch Fam Med. 2000;9:791.
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