Studies of inhaled corticosteroids, medications frequently prescribed for asthma and other respiratory problems, appear less likely to find adverse effects if they are funded by pharmaceutical companies than if they are funded by other sources, according to a report in the October 22 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.
“Inhaled corticosteroids are considered the cornerstone treatment for inflammatory respiratory diseases, especially asthma, even in mild or moderate cases,” the authors write as background information in the article. “However, they are not free of adverse effects, and concerns have been raised about long-term treatment courses in milder cases of disease or in young children.” Their use has been associated with potentially harmful decreases in the stress hormone cortisol, decreases in bone mineral density and growth suppression.
Antonio Nieto, M.D., Ph.D., of the Children's Hospital La Fe, Valencia, Spain, and colleagues assessed the safety reporting of inhaled corticosteroids in 504 studies of the drugs published between 1993 and 2002. Of those, 275 were funded by pharmaceutical companies and 229 were funded by other sources, including non-profit organizations and government agencies.
Overall, 34.5 percent of pharmaceutical-funded studies and 65.1 percent of studies with other funding sources found a significant difference in adverse effects between individuals assigned to inhaled corticosteroid groups and those who were not. This difference was no longer statistically significant when the researchers factored in components of the study design, such as dosage amounts or a focus limited to certain adverse effects, suggesting that the association between funding source and more positive outcomes may result from variations in study design.