Over Half of Contributors to New Mental Disorders Manual Had Conflicts of Interest: Report

A new report published in the British Medical Journal reveals that over half the doctors who contributed to the newest edition of the American Psychiatric Association’s (APA) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) received millions of dollars as a result of conflicts of interest. The revelation indicates a potential to obstruct the integrity of medical research as conflicts of interest “lead to implicit bias, compromise the research process, and erode public trust,” wrote lead researcher Lauren Davis of Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and her team. The DSM is the industry standard used to establish symptom criteria and psychiatric disorders. It plays a role in approving new drugs and patents and can hold sway over payers and mental health professionals looking for third-party reimbursements....