Consensus Development Conference on Antipsychotic Drugs and Obesity and Diabetes
Response to Holt, Citrome and Volevka, Isaac and Isaac, and Boehm et al.
- Eugene J. Barrett, MD, PHD
- Diabetes Center/Endocrinology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia
- Address correspondence to Dr. Eugene J. Barrett, University of Virginia, Diabetes Center/Endocrinology, 420 Ray C. Hunt Dr., Room 2308, Charlottesville, VA 22903. E-mail: ejb8x{at}virginia.edu
We appreciate the opportunity to comment on the letters that have been received in response to our recent consensus statement on antipsychotic drugs and obesity and diabetes.
Before addressing the specific issues raised in each of these letters, I think it is important to note why the American Diabetes Association (ADA) and other organizations produce consensus statements (1). As stated in our clinical practice recommendations, “the need for a consensus statement arises when clinicians or scientists desire guidance on a subject for which there is a relative deficiency of comprehensive evidence that might otherwise allow for a more definitive statement to be made.” Therefore, it should be noted that such statements represent the expert opinion of the panel based on the presentations they heard, the literature they reviewed, and the considerable discussion among panel members while writing the statement. If there was a reasonable number of randomized control trials on the subject, there would be no need for a consensus statement, but rather the associations would issue an official “Position Statement” or clinical guideline. Thus, a consensus statement can be viewed as an expert recommendation that often precedes more definitive recommendations …
