Are Industry Payments Associated With the Level of Evidence in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery?

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to determine whether the industry payments in oral and maxillofacial surgery (OMS) are associated with a study's level of evidence (LOE). A retrospective cohort study was designed and implemented to query the Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery from 2002 to 2016. The primary predictor variables were the presence of a self-reported conflict of interest (COI) and the type of COI. The outcome variable was the LOE. The secondary outcome variables investigated were the topic of the study and the inclusion of trainees. The inclusion criteria entailed contributions from domestic academic OMS training programs. Disclosure of the COIs and type of COI, the LOE, topic of the study, and inclusion of trainees were recorded for every report from January 2002 until December 2016. Descriptive statistics were calculated, and χ2tests were performed to determine a significant relationship primarily between the COIs and LOE. The sample included 1455 reports, and 4.2% of the sample size had disclosed a COI. The studies that disclosed industry payments demonstrated a significant positive correlation with the LOE (P<.01), especially for cohort studies. Also, the type of COI was significantly associated with the LOE (P<.05). Industry payments were not shown to be significantly related statistically to topic of the study (P=.16); however, the stock-related payments were associated with the topic (P<.05). No association was found between COI disclosure and trainee contribution. The results have indicated that industry payments are associated with the LOE in the OMS literature. Further studies are needed to elucidate both the accuracy of the financial disclosures by comparing them with publicly available open payment databases and the perceptions of the OMSs, their trainees, and their patients regarding the influence of industry payments on the specialty's academic interests.