Psychiatry Manual May Be Twisted
“But the new study, published in the journal Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, found that a majority of the medical experts who created the DSM have hidden financial links to the makers of psychiatric drugs.
Overall, the study found, out of the 170 medical experts who created the most recent editions of the manual, the DSM-IV, 56% had one or more financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry.
“This is one of the most important medical documents we have in this country, yet the public doesn’t have relevant information about the experts involved in developing and revising it,” said Sheldon Krimsky, a Tufts University professor and co-author of the study.
Of particular concern, Krimsky said, is the finding that 100 percent of the experts on DSM-IV panels overseeing “mood disorders” and “schizophrenia/psychotic disorders” were financially involved with the drug industry. These are the largest categories of psychiatric drugs in the world with 2004 sales of $20.3 billion and $14.4 billion respectively.
Further, the study found that more than 80 percent of panel members for “anxiety disorders,” “eating disorders,” “medication-induced movement disorders” and “premenstrual dysphonic disorder” had financial ties.
“The more lucrative the drug market, the higher the percentage of experts with financial ties–that has to raise serious questions about these panels’ objectivity,” commented David Rothman, professor of social medicine at Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons.
The American Psychiatric Associating (APA) defended the manual.”
And is anyone at all surprised at the results of this study???
Not me.
Psychiatry has a REAL credibility problem…
Jenny Hatch