Table 2 Non-supported claims and claims based on potentially biased evidence of drug advertisements in major Swiss medical journals in 2005
Total | Supported claims | Not supported claims | Claims based on potentially biased evidence | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Drug claims | 78 | 37 (47%) | 16 (21%) | 25 (32%) |
Analgesic drugs | 32 | 14 (44%) | 10 (31%) | 8 (25%) |
Psychopharmacologic drugs | 30 | 17 (57%) | 3 (10%) | 10 (33%) |
Gastrointestinal drugs | 16 | 6 (38%) | 3 (19%) | 7 (43%) |
Promotional claims | ||||
Effectiveness | 66(85%) | 31 (84%) | 14 (88%) | 21 (84%) |
Safety | 6 (8%) | 2 (5%) | 1 (6%) | 3 (12%) |
Dosage/convenience | 3 (4%) | 1 (3%) | 1 (6%) | 1 (4%) |
Neutral | 2 (3%) | 2 (5%) | ||
Costs | 1 (1%) | 1 (3%) | ||
Type of non-supported claim | ||||
False statement | 4 (25%) | |||
Exaggeration | 4 (25%) | |||
Unjustified generalization | 3 (19%) | |||
Absence of relation | 3 (19%) | |||
Unjustified transfer to humans | 2 (13%) | |||
Type of claims based on potentially biased evidence | ||||
Abstract only | 9 (36%) | |||
Selection bias | 6 (24%) | |||
Publication bias | 5 (20%) | |||
Information of ≥ 3 quality items of RCT* missing | 4 (16%) | |||
Post hoc analysis | 1 (4%) |