[The scientific information that the pharmaceutical industry provides to family doctors].
OBJECTIVE
To check whether the information in the written publicity that the pharmaceutical industry gives to family doctors really is based on the scientific studies that support it.


METHODS
Cross-sectional study.


METHODS
Health centre on the outskirts of a big city.


METHODS
Over a year, all the scientific studies that laboratory reps gave family doctors along with the advertising for medicines were collected. A total of 63 paired studies and advertising pieces were obtained.


METHODS
1-3 advertising messages with each supporting study were selected and reviewed in a structured fashion. Then whether or not the messages selected were based on the study was appraised.


RESULTS
44.5% of the advertising messages were not based on the accompanying study; 29.9% clearly were based on the study; and in the rest there was a half-and-half relationship. There was a significant relationship between the evaluation of the advertising messages and the kind of study, masking and the kind of result variable.


CONCLUSIONS
A high proportion of advertising messages are not based on the study that is reputed to support them. A critique of these studies has to be undertaken before the advertising messages can be looked at.
Rivera Casares
F
F
CS Fuensanta, Valencia, Spain. frivera@comv.es
Richart Rufino
M J
MJ
Navas Cutanda
J
J
Rodríguez Górriz
E
E
Gómez Moruno
C
C
Gómez García
B
B
D000329:Advertising / Q000592:standards; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004345:Drug Industry / Q000592:standards*; D004346:Drug Information Services; D006801:Humans; D010174:Pamphlets; D010821:Physicians, Family