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Diabetes patients may gain some benefit from being part of an online patient community, but should be cautious about the accuracy of information they find, according to new research funded by CVS Caremark, the largest pharmacy healthcare provider in the United States.

Across 15 diabetes-related Facebook sites with an average of 9,289 users, almost two thirds of the posts are from individuals sharing their personal experiences. A quarter of the comments share personal information that would be unlikely to be shared between patient and doctor, while 29 per cent of posts are from patients offering emotional support to others dealing with the disease, according to the study carried out by Harvard University and Brigham and Women's Hospital researchers.

However, the research team raised concerns regarding the authenticity of users on the sites. While the review did not find a significant amount of misleading or dangerous information posted on the sites, one in four comments promoted some kind of service or product. The products in question were generally non-FDA (US Food and Drug Administration) approved. The researchers noted that in the case of numerous marketing pitches and attempts to recruit patients for clinical trials, the identity of the user could not be confirmed.

'The study outlines meaningful benefits that patients may experience when participating in these sites, such as self-education, information sharing and community support,' said William H. Shrank, MD, MSHS, senior author of the study. 'However, we also saw little quality control around promotional and data gathering activities, and patients and policy makers should take note of that.'

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