Questions Arise Over Citations in 'Make America Healthy Again' Report

A recent White House report titled 'Make America Healthy Again' (MAHA), released on May 22, 2025, has come under scrutiny after reports revealed that several cited studies do not exist. The report, which was commissioned to evaluate factors contributing to childhood chronic diseases, included references to academic papers and authors who, upon investigation, stated they never authored the cited work. Notably, Noah Kreski from Columbia University clarified that a citation linked to a study on adolescent anxiety during COVID-19 was not one of their publications. The link directing users to a peer-reviewed article in JAMA was broken, and Jim Michalski from JAMA Network Media Relations confirmed that the article was not published in any JAMA journal.

Further inquiries uncovered that Harold Farber, a pediatrics professor at Baylor College of Medicine, and Brian McNeill from Virginia Commonwealth University, who are credited as co-authors, reported that they had no involvement with the papers attributed to them. Additionally, a purported 2008 publication on ADHD medication listed in the report was not found by the American Academy of Pediatrics, which explicitly stated that they could not locate the title in their archives.

These findings cast doubt on the scholarly integrity of the MAHA report, raising concerns about its credibility. The Department of Health and Human Services deferred comment, pointing questions towards the White House. The report also includes controversial views such as linking chronic diseases to discredited theories about vaccines and criticizing the increasing prescription of psychiatric drugs and antibiotics for children. Critics argue that the report seems to echo unfounded theories long debunked by scientific research, highlighting issues of misinformation and the need for accurate referencing in health policy documents.

The controversy surrounding this report underscores the importance of verifying sources in influential health policy reports and may impact public trust in government health initiatives. Source: https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-05-america-healthy-cites-nonexistent-authors.html