Overview
- BMJ Group announced on September 23 the withdrawal of the widely publicized 2024 trial after statisticians could not replicate its findings and flagged errors, implausible values, dataset irregularities and insufficient methodological reporting.
- Helen Macdonald, BMJ’s content integrity editor, said the study’s results are not reliable and should not be cited in future reporting.
- The study’s authors accepted the retraction, characterizing the problems as honest errors and agreeing with the decision to remove the paper.
- Journal editor-in-chief Martin Kohlmeier acknowledged it was a mistake to publish the trial without prospective registration, noting the editorial lapse.
- Separate reviews continue to note possible modest effects of vinegar on satiety, gastric emptying and some metabolic markers, but experts stress the evidence remains inconclusive and advise safety precautions such as dilution and checking for drug interactions.