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Clinical practice guidelines may be tainted by influence from industry

Category: Diabetes

Clinical practice guidelines are a vital source of information instructing doctors on how often a person with diabetes should receive HbA1c tests, cholesterol screening and other vital examinations to make sure they are effectively managing the condition.

However, new research suggests that many of the people responsible for creating these guidelines may have conflicts of interest that allow industry groups to influence the development of treatment recommendations.

A team of researchers from Mount Sinai School of Medicine looked into 288 individuals who were responsible for creating clinical practice guidelines from the American Diabetes Association, the American Heart Association and the U.S. Preventive Task Force.

The results showed that 52 percent of the people involved in creating the guidelines had relevant conflicts of interest. Furthermore, more than 11 percent of those who formally declared to have no conflicts of interest actually did.

The researchers said that more needs to be done to bring transparency to the situation. They said the Institute of Medicine is currently leading a charge to get industry influence out of clinical practice guidelines, and they support these efforts.