DSM-V Draft Released, Pharmaceutical Industry Influence Questioned

Last week, the American Psychiatric Association released it’s draft of the next Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, better known as the DSM. First, I will describe a little about the DSM and give one example of a new pathological disorder being considered for inclusion in the next edition. Here, I outline one set of symptoms for the proposed disorder “hypersexual disorder”. Then, I will look at the links between one pharmaceutical company, Pfizer, and the psychiatrists on the DSM groups responsible for the new version. Taking a look at state and federal disclosure requirements, I conclude by asking whether these relationships are appropriate.

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