Consideration of Multiple Chronic Diseases in Randomized Controlled Trials

Description:
Before approval of a new drug, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires phase 3 clinical trials demonstrating efficacy. Usually trials are conducted in homogeneous populations and rarely include individuals with multiple chronic conditions. In the United States, more than 50% of people with chronic conditions have 2 or more diseases. Twenty-eight percent of the population lives with multiple chronic conditions, including 2 of 3 older individuals. Multiple chronic conditions account for 66% of the country's overall health expenditures 2 and more than 95% of Medicare expenditures.

How to cite:

Jadad AR, To MJ, Emara M, Jones J. Consideration of Multiple Chronic Diseases in Randomized Controlled Trials. JAMA. 2011; 306(24): 2670-2672. Available at (pdf): http://jama.ama-assn.org/content/306/24/2670.3.full.pdf+html

This study tested the hypothesis that patients with multiple chronic conditions are underrepresented in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published in high-impact journals and that there are no significant differences by type of journal or changes over time.

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