The effects of vitamin D and probiotic co-supplementation on mental health parameters and metabolic status in type 2 diabetic patients with coronary heart disease: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial
Assessed by RV014 · Research Fellow
Assessed on 4 Nov 2025
OverallReviewer's overall integrity assessment, derived from all research questions Serious concerns
DOI 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2018.02.007 (opens in new tab)
Resource ripekg:research-integrity-assessment/RIPEA84BEB5719212517B
5 Research Questions · 46 Evidence Items
Q1.1 — Does the study have an associated retraction?
Rationale: Agree
Supporting Evidence (2)
Retraction NoticeSource: Retraction Watch database
Clinical and metabolic response to probiotic supplementation in patients with multiple sclerosis: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial
10.1016/j.clnu.2025.08.011 (opens in new tab)RetractionWatch ID:Record identifier in the Retraction Watch database 67435
Rationale: Concerns/Issues About Data;Concerns/Issues about Results and/or Conclusions;Investigation by Journal/Publisher;Investigation by Third Party;Objections by Author(s);Unreliable Results and/or Conclusions
About Authors: Omid Tamtaji, Zatollah Asemi, Maryam Tajabadi-Ebrahimi, Elmira Akbari, Ebrahim Kouchaki, Fereshteh Bahmani
Retraction NoticeSource: Retraction Watch database
Long-Term Vitamin D Supplementation Affects Metabolic Status in Vitamin D-Deficient Type 2 Diabetic Patients with Coronary Artery Disease
10.1093/jn/nxab073 (opens in new tab)RetractionWatch ID:Record identifier in the Retraction Watch database 28369
Rationale: Concerns/Issues About Data;Investigation by Journal/Publisher;Upgrade/Update of Prior Notice(s)
About Authors: Fariba Raygan, Hamid Talari, Ahmad Esmaillzadeh, Fereshteh Bahmani
Q1.2 — Does the study have an associated expression of concern or other relevant post-publication notice?
Rationale: I agree with the INSPECT-AI suggestion
Supporting Evidence (1)
PubPeer ThreadSource: PubPeer.com — post-publication peer review comments
https://pubpeer.com/publications/E9B113E4C658DF585761F8317E1A82 (opens in new tab)PubPeer CommentSource: PubPeer.com — a platform for post-publication peer review
There are many concerns about the integrity of 172 publications by this research group, including this one. Some of the concerns are published 1. Anaesthesia 2020;75:1683–92, see Supplementary data. This paper is A160 2. Account Res 2020;28:149-61. 3. J Clin Epidemiol 2021;131:22-29. Journals and publishers were notified of these concerns in July 2019. 18 publications have an expression of concern, and 6 have been retracted. To our knowledge there has been no public response about any of the concerns. We think these publications are unreliable
Thread: https://pubpeer.com/publications/E9B113E4C658DF585761F8317E1A82 (opens in new tab)
Q1.3 — Do other studies by the research team highlight causes for concern?
Rationale: I agree with the INSPECT-AI suggestion
Supporting Evidence (41)
Retraction NoticeSource: Retraction Watch database
Calcium plus vitamin D supplementation influences biomarkers of inflammation and oxidative stress in overweight and vitamin D-deficient women with polycystic ovary syndrome: A randomized double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial
10.1111/cen.14892 (opens in new tab)RetractionWatch ID:Record identifier in the Retraction Watch database 43979
Rationale: Investigation by Third Party
About Authors: Fatemeh Foroozanfard, Mehri Jamilian, Teibeh Hashemi, Ahmad Esmaillzadeh, Fereshteh Bahmani
Retraction NoticeSource: Retraction Watch database
Comparison of myo-inositol and metformin on clinical, metabolic and genetic parameters in polycystic ovary syndrome: A randomized controlled clinical trial
10.1111/cen.14889 (opens in new tab)RetractionWatch ID:Record identifier in the Retraction Watch database 43984
Rationale: Investigation by Third Party
About Authors: Fatemeh Foroozanfard, Mehri Jamilian, Fereshteh Bahmani, Hamidreza Jamilian, Esmat Aghadavod, Faraneh Afshar Ebrahimi
Retraction NoticeSource: Retraction Watch database
Comparison of myo-inositol and metformin on mental health parameters and biomarkers of oxidative stress in women with polycystic ovary syndrome: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial
10.1080/0167482x.2024.2346385 (opens in new tab)RetractionWatch ID:Record identifier in the Retraction Watch database 53693
Rationale: Concerns/Issues About Data;Concerns/Issues about Results and/or Conclusions;Investigation by Journal/Publisher;Investigation by Third Party;Objections by Author(s);Unreliable Results and/or Conclusions;Upgrade/Update of Prior Notice(s)
About Authors: Fatemeh Foroozanfard, Mehri Jamilian, Fereshteh Bahmani, Hamidreza Jamilian, Faraneh Afshar Ebrahimi
Q2.2 — Are there concerns relating to the timing or absence of study registration?
Rationale: I agree with the INSPECT-AI suggestion
Supporting Evidence (2)
Clinical Trial RegistrationSource: Clinical trial registry (e.g. ClinicalTrials.gov, ISRCTN)
Registration ID: IRCT2017073033941N4
Registry: IRCT
Registry Link: https://trialsearch.who.int/Trial2.aspx?TrialID=IRCT2017073033941N4 (opens in new tab)
Registration Date: 28 Aug 2017
Prospective:Whether the trial was registered before participant recruitment began Yes
Assessment Rationale:How INSPECT-AI determined the prospective registration status by comparing dates Comparison performed at month level. Registration: 2017-08, LLM Recruitment Start: 2017-08. Deemed prospective at month level.
Study Design EvidenceDates and timelines extracted by INSPECT-AI from the publication text
Recruitment Start: 08-2017
Recruitment Start Rationale:INSPECT-AI's reasoning for how it identified the recruitment start date Methods: 'conducted from August 2017'; used start of conducted range as recruitment_start per rule 5; no specific FPI elsewhere.
Recruitment End: N/A
Recruitment End Rationale:INSPECT-AI's reasoning for how it identified the recruitment end date No explicit end-of-recruitment date after full search.
Study End: 11-2017
Study End Rationale:INSPECT-AI's reasoning for how it identified the study end date Methods: 'conducted from August 2017 and November 2017'; used end of conducted range as study_end_date per rule 5; no specific completion date.
Overall — What is the overall integrity assessment of the study?
Rationale: I would class this as serious concerns based on these checks due to the retractions associated with the author group.