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. 2014 Jul;174(7):1176-82.
doi: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2014.1371.

Descriptions and interpretations of the ACCORD-Lipid trial in the news and biomedical literature: a cross-sectional analysis

Nicholas S Downing  1 , Theresa Cheng  2 , Harlan M Krumholz  3 , Nilay D Shah  4 , Joseph S Ross  5
Affiliations

Descriptions and interpretations of the ACCORD-Lipid trial in the news and biomedical literature: a cross-sectional analysis

Nicholas S Downing et al. JAMA Intern Med. 2014 Jul.

Abstract

The lipid component of the Action to Control Cardiovascular Risk in Diabetes (ACCORD-Lipid) trial was a landmark, publicly funded study demonstrating that fenofibrate, when added to statin therapy, was not associated with improved cardiovascular outcomes among patients with diabetes mellitus. We performed a cross-sectional study of all articles describing the results of ACCORD-Lipid in the news and biomedical literature in the 15 months following its publication. For articles published in biomedical journals, we determined whether there was an association between authors' conflicts of interest and trial interpretation. We identified 67 news articles and 141 biomedical journal articles discussing ACCORD-Lipid. Approximately 30% of news and biomedical journal articles described fenofibrate as ineffective, whereas nearly 20% concluded it was effective. Among articles making a recommendation, approximately 50% of news and 67% of biomedical journal articles supported continued fibrate use. Authors with conflicts of interest were more likely to describe fenofibrate as effective (27.1% vs 8.9%; relative risk, 3.03; 95% CI, 1.22-7.50; P = .008) and support continued fibrate use (77.4% vs 45.8%; 1.69; 1.07-2.67; P = .006). The ACCORD-Lipid trial was described inconsistently in news and biomedical journal articles, possibly creating uncertainty among patients and physicians. In addition, conflicts of interest were associated with more favorable trial interpretation.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of interest: Mr. Downing reports that he was formerly a consultant to Moderna. Dr. Krumholz reports that he chairs a scientific advisory board for UnitedHealthcare. Dr. Ross reports that he is a member of a scientific advisory board for FAIR Health, Inc.

Figures

FIGURE
FIGURE
CONSORT Flow Diagram representing the identification and selection of news articles and biomedical journal articles for study inclusion.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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