Though, you already “knew” it, a study published in the Journal of Clinical Epidemiology may be a good one to bookmark if you are inclined towards natural parenting. The study may help you look less like a conspiracy theorists to your more mainstream friends and family.
In a massive analysis of 6,711 randomized controlled trials and 28,104 authors, the existence of a massive research “clique” was revealed. It indicated that authors who had ties to the drug industry indeed get preferential treatment from publishers and colleagues.
Of the authors evaluated, only six percent of authors listed a direct affiliation with the manufacturer of a drug.
Not bad, eh?
BUT….
These same six percent of authors ended up receiving “significantly more citations and were significantly more central in the networks.”
The study also showed that the authors who had direct affiliations with the drug industry enjoyed a greater reach in the networks. The analysis found that these “favorite” authors collaborated more with non drug industry afiliated authors despite a preference toward their own group. These findings indicated that these “preferred” authors are simply moved around from research trial to research trial.
The study further explains that problems with this drug industry affiliated research “clique” may include publication bias, trial size issues, and improper conclusions.
