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Table 3 Disclosure and reporting in meta-analyses of randomized controlled trial funding source, author financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry, and author employment by the pharmaceutical industry

From: Reporting of financial conflicts of interest in meta-analyses of drug trials published in high-impact medical journals: comparison of results from 2017 to 2018 and 2009

Author

Journal

Number of meta-analyzed RCTs

Meta-analysis reported RCT funding

Place in publication of RCT funding

Meta-analysis reported RCT author-industry financial ties

Place in publication of RCT author-industry financial ties

Meta-analysis reported RCT author-industry employment

Quality or risk assessment method of meta-analysis

General medicine

Feller et al. [23]

JAMA

21

Yes, for each included study

Text (as summary statement—for some but not all included studies—RCTs referenced)

Characteristics of included studies table (in article—for each included study)

No

N/A

No

Cochrane

McIntyre et al. [24]

JAMA

23

Yes, for each included study

Characteristics of included studies table (in supplementary material—web link only—no mention in text)

Yes, for some but not all included studiesa

Characteristics of included studies table (in supplementary material—web link only—no mention in text)

No

Cochrane

Zheng et al. [25]

JAMA

236

No

N/A

No

N/A

No

Cochrane

Cipriani et al. [26]

Lancet

522

Yes, for each included studyb

Text (as summary statement—RCTs not referenced)

Characteristics of included studies (in supplementary material—web link only—funder name not mentioned)

Noc

N/A

No

Cochrane

Gayet-Ageron et al. [27]

Lancet

2

Yes, for each included study

Abstract

No

N/A

No

Cochrane

Jinatongthai et al. [28]

Lancet

40

No

N/A

No

N/A

No

Cochrane

Alibhai et al. [29]

Ann Intern Med

23

Yes, for each included study

Risk of bias assessment text section (as summary statement—for some but not all included studies—RCTs not referenced)

Risk of bias assessment table (in article—for each included study)

No

N/A

No

Cochrane

Wilson et al. [30]

Ann Intern Med

10

Yes, for each included studyd

Risk of bias assessment text section (as summary statement—RCTs referenced)

Characteristics of studies included table (in article—for each included study)

No

N/A

No

Cochrane

Baxi et al. [31]

BMJ

13

No

N/A

No

N/A

No

Cochrane

López-López et al. [32]

BMJ

23

Yes, for each included study

Text (as summary statement—RCTs not referenced)

Characteristics of included studies table (for each included study—in supplementary material—web link only)

No

N/A

No

Cochrane

Sadeghirad et al. [33]

BMJ

10

No

N/A

No

N/A

No

Cochrane

General medicine total

 

923

7/11 (63.6%)

 

1/11 (9.1%)

 

0/11 (0.0%)

 

Specialty medicine

Oncology

McCarthy et al. [34]

J Clin Oncol

3

Yes, for each included study

“Support” section at end of article

No

N/A

No

None

van Beurden-Tan et al. [35]

J Clin Oncol

17

No

N/A

No

N/A

No

None

Abdel-Qadir et al. [36]

Ann Oncol

16

No

N/A

No

N/A

No

Cochrane

Cardiology

Siontis et al. [37]

Circulation

4

No

N/A

No

N/A

No

None

Renda et al. [38]

J Am Coll Cardiol

4

No

N/A

No

N/A

No

Cochrane

Lau et al. [39]

J Am Coll Cardiol

7

Yes, for some but not all studiese

Footnote on first 3 pages of article

No

N/A

No

None

Respiratory medicine

Verberkt et al. [40]

Eur Resp J

22

No

N/A

No

N/A

No

Cochrane

Ding et al. [41]

J Thorac Oncol

16

No

N/A

No

N/A

No

None

Lee et al. [42]

J Thorac Oncol

3

No

N/A

No

N/A

No

None

Endocrinology

Bethel et al. [43]

Lancet Diabetes Endocrinol

4

No

N/A

No

N/A

No

Jadad

de Carvalho et al. [44]

Diabetes Care

20

No

N/A

No

N/A

No

Cochrane

Maiorino et al. [45]

Diabetes Care

26

Yes, for each included study

Text (as summary statement—RCTs not referenced)

Characteristics of included studies table (in article—for each included study)

No

N/A

No

Cochrane, Jadad

Gastroenterology

Khera et al. [46]

Gastroenterology

28

No

N/A

No

N/A

No

Cochrane

Nelson et al. [47]

Gut

21

No

N/A

No

N/A

No

Cochrane

Ford et al. [48]

Gut

13

No

N/A

No

N/A

No

Cochrane

Specialty medicine total:

 

204

3/15 (20.0%)

 

0/15 (0.0%)

 

0/15 (0.0%)

 

Cochrane database of systematic reviews

Tenforde et al. [49]

Cochrane Database Syst Rev

13

Yes, for each included study

Risk of bias assessment in main text (as a summary statement—for some but not all included studies—RCTs referenced)f

Risk of bias assessment table in characteristics of included studies section (supplementary material—in article—for some but not all included studies)g

Characteristics of included studies table (supplementary material—in article—for each included study)

Yes, for each included study

Risk of bias assessment in main text (as a summary statement—for some but not all included studies—studies referenced)f

Risk of bias assessment table in characteristics of included studies section (supplementary material—in article—for some but not all included studies)h

Characteristics of included studies table (supplementary material—in article—for each included study)

No

Cochrane

McNicol et al. [50]

Cochrane Database Syst Rev

11

Yes, for each included study

Characteristics of included studies table (supplementary material—in article)

No

N/A

No

Cochrane

Normansell et al. [51]

Cochrane Database Syst Rev

4

Yes, for each included study

Text (as a summary statement—RCTs referenced)

Characteristics of included studies table (supplementary material—in article—for each included study)

Noi

N/A

No

Cochrane

Cochrane total

 

28

3/3 (100%)

 

1/3 (33.3%)

 

0/3 (0.0%)

 

Total

 

1155

13/29 (44.8%)

 

2/29 (6.9%)

 

0/29 (0.0%)

 
  1. FCOI financial conflict of interest, N/A not applicable, RCT randomized controlled trial
  2. aAuthor FCOIs are reported for 21 out of 23 RCTs. Reporting of “All authors submitted the ICMJE Form for Disclosure” for 1 study was not considered reporting of author FCOIs. Reporting of “Funding source: Ferring pharmaceuticals, patents related to the use of vasopressin in septic shock” for 1 study was not considered reporting of author FCOIs since not specified and was only coded as RCT funding source reported
  3. bThe authors considered funding for included studies as “sponsored” when it was indicated anywhere in the text that the study was funded/sponsored by the company which manufactured or marketed the drug in question, or if 1 or more of the authors were affiliated with the company in question, or if the data came from the documents provided by or obtained from the company website. Sponsorship was rated as “unclear” if the authors only listed the names of the companies in question in their declaration of conflicts of interest. Names of the pharmaceutical companies that sponsored trials were not reported
  4. cAuthor FCOIs with manufacturer of researched drug, among funding from manufacturer, or data obtained from manufacturer, qualified a study of “sponsored,” but no further specification was given. A study being “sponsored” was only coded as having funding sources reported
  5. dAuthors reported RCT funding of industry, not industry, or not reported, and sponsors’ names were not mentioned
  6. eFunding was reported for 5 out of 7 included RCTs
  7. fIn risk of bias assessment text section, the summarized “other bias” optional Cochrane domain included both direct support from pharmaceutical manufacturers of study drugs and authors receiving research support from manufacturers without the role of the drug companies clearly stated. Studies are referenced, but it is not mentioned for which FCOI (direct support from industry and/or author support from industry)
  8. gIn the “other bias” optional Cochrane domain in risk of bias assessment table, located in the characteristics of included studies section, funding is only reported for RCTs sponsored by pharmaceutical industry, with no mention of the name of the pharmaceutical company, which is only mentioned in the “Notes” section of the characteristics of included studies table
  9. hIn “other bias” optional Cochrane domain in risk of bias assessment table, located in the characteristics of included studies section, author FCOIs are only reported for RCTs where FCOIs are listed
  10. iAuthors stated that they extracted data on “notable conflicts of interest of trial authors” but no information on included RCTs author FCOIs was reported in the text or supplementary materials