Study: Medical experts tied to drugmakers

Dan Vergano USA Today Apr. 20, 2006 12:00 AM

A majority of the medical experts who created the "bible" for diagnosing mental illness have undisclosed financial links to drugmakers, says a study out today.

And some panels overseeing disorders that require treatment with prescription drugs, such as schizophrenia and "mood disorders," were 100 percent filled with experts financially tied to the pharmaceutical industry, says the study published in the journal Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics.

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders, or DSM, is the American Psychiatric Association's diagnosis manual. It is also used as the basis for insurance payments for psychiatric treatments, including drugs.

"No blood tests exist for the disorders in the DSM; it relies on judgments from practitioners who rely on the manual," said lead study author Lisa Cosgrove of the University of Massachusetts in Boston.

The researchers looked for research funds, consultancies, patents and other gifts or grants received by members of the 18 DSM preparation panels from 1989 to 2004, both before and after their terms.

They found that among the 170 medical experts who created the two most recent editions of the manual, 56 percent had one or more financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry.