Conflicts of Interest Among Cardiology Clinical Practice Guideline Authors in Japan

Background Clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) offer disease management recommendations based on scientific evidence. However, financial conflicts of interest between CPG developers and the pharmaceutical industry could bias these recommendations, potentially affecting patient care. Proper managemen...

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Main Authors: Anju Murayama, Megumi Aizawa, Keerthana R. Byreddy, Kenichi Higuchi, Yuki Senoo
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2024-04-01
Series:Journal of the American Heart Association: Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular Disease
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/JAHA.124.034506
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author Anju Murayama
Megumi Aizawa
Keerthana R. Byreddy
Kenichi Higuchi
Yuki Senoo
author_facet Anju Murayama
Megumi Aizawa
Keerthana R. Byreddy
Kenichi Higuchi
Yuki Senoo
author_sort Anju Murayama
collection DOAJ
description Background Clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) offer disease management recommendations based on scientific evidence. However, financial conflicts of interest between CPG developers and the pharmaceutical industry could bias these recommendations, potentially affecting patient care. Proper management of these conflicts of interest is particularly crucial for maintaining the integrity of CPGs. The study aimed to evaluate the extent of financial relationships between the pharmaceutical industry and authors of CPGs for cardiovascular diseases in Japan. Methods and Results The study analyzed personal payments from the pharmaceutical industry to authors of cardiovascular disease CPGs published by the Japanese Circulation Society from January 2015 to December 2022. Payment data, including speaking, consultancy, and writing fees from 2016 to 2020, were extracted from a publicly available database containing personal payments disclosed by all major pharmaceutical companies. A total of 929 unique authors from 37 eligible Japanese Circulation Society CPGs were identified. Notably, 94.4% of these authors received personal payments from pharmaceutical companies, totaling >US $70.8 million. The mean±SD payment per author was US $76 314±138 663) and the median payment per author was US $20 792 (interquartile range: US $4262–US $76 998) over the 5‐year period. Chairs of CPGs received significantly higher payments than other authors. More than 80% of authors in each CPG received personal payments. Conclusions The study elucidated that there were considerable financial relationships between pharmaceutical companies and cardiology CPG authors in Japan. This finding deviates from international conflict of interest management policies, suggesting the need for more stringent conflict of interest management strategies by the Japanese Circulation Society to ensure the development of trustworthy and evidence‐based CPGs.
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spelling doaj-art-8f78eabd426f4b77bcfdefd9b29d01e12025-08-20T02:26:37ZengWileyJournal of the American Heart Association: Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular Disease2047-99802024-04-0113810.1161/JAHA.124.034506Conflicts of Interest Among Cardiology Clinical Practice Guideline Authors in JapanAnju Murayama0Megumi Aizawa1Keerthana R. Byreddy2Kenichi Higuchi3Yuki Senoo4Tohoku University School of Medicine Sendai Miyagi JapanDepartment of Industrial Engineering and Economics Tokyo Institute of Technology Meguro Tokyo JapanDepartment of Population Health Science and Policy Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai New York NY USATohoku University School of Medicine Sendai Miyagi JapanHigashi Totsuka Memorial Hospital Yokohama Kanagawa JapanBackground Clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) offer disease management recommendations based on scientific evidence. However, financial conflicts of interest between CPG developers and the pharmaceutical industry could bias these recommendations, potentially affecting patient care. Proper management of these conflicts of interest is particularly crucial for maintaining the integrity of CPGs. The study aimed to evaluate the extent of financial relationships between the pharmaceutical industry and authors of CPGs for cardiovascular diseases in Japan. Methods and Results The study analyzed personal payments from the pharmaceutical industry to authors of cardiovascular disease CPGs published by the Japanese Circulation Society from January 2015 to December 2022. Payment data, including speaking, consultancy, and writing fees from 2016 to 2020, were extracted from a publicly available database containing personal payments disclosed by all major pharmaceutical companies. A total of 929 unique authors from 37 eligible Japanese Circulation Society CPGs were identified. Notably, 94.4% of these authors received personal payments from pharmaceutical companies, totaling >US $70.8 million. The mean±SD payment per author was US $76 314±138 663) and the median payment per author was US $20 792 (interquartile range: US $4262–US $76 998) over the 5‐year period. Chairs of CPGs received significantly higher payments than other authors. More than 80% of authors in each CPG received personal payments. Conclusions The study elucidated that there were considerable financial relationships between pharmaceutical companies and cardiology CPG authors in Japan. This finding deviates from international conflict of interest management policies, suggesting the need for more stringent conflict of interest management strategies by the Japanese Circulation Society to ensure the development of trustworthy and evidence‐based CPGs.https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/JAHA.124.034506cardiologyclinical practice guidelineconflict of interesthealth policymedical ethics
spellingShingle Anju Murayama
Megumi Aizawa
Keerthana R. Byreddy
Kenichi Higuchi
Yuki Senoo
Conflicts of Interest Among Cardiology Clinical Practice Guideline Authors in Japan
Journal of the American Heart Association: Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular Disease
cardiology
clinical practice guideline
conflict of interest
health policy
medical ethics
title Conflicts of Interest Among Cardiology Clinical Practice Guideline Authors in Japan
title_full Conflicts of Interest Among Cardiology Clinical Practice Guideline Authors in Japan
title_fullStr Conflicts of Interest Among Cardiology Clinical Practice Guideline Authors in Japan
title_full_unstemmed Conflicts of Interest Among Cardiology Clinical Practice Guideline Authors in Japan
title_short Conflicts of Interest Among Cardiology Clinical Practice Guideline Authors in Japan
title_sort conflicts of interest among cardiology clinical practice guideline authors in japan
topic cardiology
clinical practice guideline
conflict of interest
health policy
medical ethics
url https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/JAHA.124.034506
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AT keerthanarbyreddy conflictsofinterestamongcardiologyclinicalpracticeguidelineauthorsinjapan
AT kenichihiguchi conflictsofinterestamongcardiologyclinicalpracticeguidelineauthorsinjapan
AT yukisenoo conflictsofinterestamongcardiologyclinicalpracticeguidelineauthorsinjapan