TY - JOUR T1 - It is time for consensus on ‘consensus statements’ JF - British Journal of Sports Medicine JO - Br J Sports Med SP - 306 LP - 307 DO - 10.1136/bjsports-2021-104578 VL - 56 IS - 6 AU - Paul Blazey AU - Kay M Crossley AU - Clare L Ardern AU - Marienke van Middelkoop AU - Alex Scott AU - Karim M Khan Y1 - 2022/03/01 UR - http://bjsm.bmj.com/content/56/6/306.abstract N2 - The International Olympic Committee has published 27 ‘consensus statements’ since 2004.1 Many of them are heavily downloaded and highly cited. Several have influenced health policy and societal behaviour. Some consensus statements are so well-known they go by just one name in context: ‘Berlin’ means concussion, ‘Doha’ is synonymous with groin pain, and ‘Bern’ evokes return to play guidelines.Despite their eminence, even the most respected consensus statements have limitations: relevant stakeholders are absent from the consensus process; authors inadequately report the method of evidence synthesis; consensus group members may be ‘coerced’ to agree; and the reports often fail to capture the rich discussion that occurs during a panel meeting.We critically examine methods that underpin sport and exercise medicine consensus statements. Specifically, we: (1) question whether consensus statements deserve their prestige; (2) highlight bias in the current methods of developing consensus and (3) propose future steps to improve the quality of consensus statements by using reporting guidelines.Expert opinion sits at the base of the evidence pyramid but when those experts gather, and take recent systematic reviews into account, their output—consensus statements—are given great weight. Consensus statements are some of the most downloaded and cited publications. … ER -