How evidence-based are advertisements in journals regarding the subspecialty of rheumatology?

Objectives: In rheumatology, five different billion-dollar drugs have emerged in recent years, making this subspecialty the focus of extensive advertising campaigns. Considering this development and the fact that the scientific content of advertisements has been questioned, we initiated a study to determine how evidence-based advertisements are in four leading journals of rheumatology.

Methods: Advertisements were extracted from the journals Arthritis and Rheumatism, Rheumatology, Seminars in Arthritis and Rheumatism and the Journal of Rheumatology, and were evaluated using a standardized score form.