ArticleScientific reports2025
Prevalence of pharmaceutical industry conspiracy theories among the polish population.
Article in Scientific reports, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Why do people trust (or mistrust) health organizations? A systematic review.International journal for equity in health · 2026Pooled it
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Conspiracy theories in the health domain can potentially erode trust in public health institutions and experts, resulting in non-compliance with public health guidelines and recommendations. This article aims to uncover and describe the widespread conspiracy theories associated with the pharmaceutical industry in Poland, while characterising the individuals who hold these beliefs. An online survey was conducted using a research-focused panel of participants. A quota sample of 1,057 was selected to reflect the basic demographic characteristics of the Polish population. Findings showed that pharmaceutical industry-linked conspiracy theories (PILCT) are widespread among respondents. The most popular theory regarding the concealment of drug side effects was held by 63.1% of respondents. Individuals with children, better financial situations, strong religious beliefs, living in a city or village with a population of less than 500,000 and a lower level of education tend to have higher PILCT beliefs. Higher PILCT beliefs correlate with reduced trust in doctors and the industry. Private healthcare services and vaccination behaviours (both irregular and regular vaccinations) are key predictors of lower PILCT beliefs. Considering the health risks and findings of this study, practitioners must be made aware of such widespread false beliefs to address this challenge properly.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.