Mental illness in the United States is primarily treated using pharmaceuticals, often without even recommendations for psychotherapy or counseling. In fact, a report published earlier in 2006 in Forbes magazine listed Zoloft, an antidepressant, as the 7th best selling drug in the United States with sales totaling $3.1 billion in 2005. Effexor XR (another antidepressant) came in 14th with sales totaling $2.6 billlion. Drugs for treatment of schizophrenia came in 13th, 15th and 18th on the list. With so much money being spent on medications to treat mental illness, researchers wondered what sort of ties physicians on the advisory board to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-IV (DSM-IV) may have.
In an article published in Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, researchers found that of the 170 panel members who contributed to the diagnostic criteria produced for the DSM-IV and the DSM-IV-TR, 56% had one or more financial associations with companies in the pharmaceutical industry. Upon examination of panel members of work groups on mood disorders (like depression) and psychotic disorders (like schizophrenia), 100% had financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry. Of particular interest is the connection to drug sales outlined above.
The researchers concluded, "The connections are especially strong in those diagnostic areas where drugs are the first line of treatment for mental disorders. Full disclosure by DSM panel members of their financial relationships with for-profit entities that manufacture drugs used in the treatment of mental illness is recommended."
Posted by Dr. Jennifer Stagg on August 20, 2006 05:50 PM
