PLACEBO - NOCEBO
| 3.AUTHOR | Wilcox-C-S, Cohn-J-B, Linden-R-D, Heiser-J-F, Lucas-P-B, Morgan-D-L, DeFrancisco-D. |
|---|---|
| INSTITUTION | Pharmacology Research Institute, Long Beach, CA 90807-0289. |
| TITLE | Predictors of placebo response: a retrospective analysis. |
| SOURCE | Psychopharmacol-Bull 1992, VOL: 28 (2), P: 157-62, ISSN: 0048-5764. |
ABSTRACT
This retrospective evaluation involved 197 patients from independent clinical investigations of four antidepressant medications. Six variables were analyzed for their discriminative utility in predicting placebo response rates: gender; marital status; age; education; duration of illness; and severity of depressive symptomatology, as measured by Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D or HDRS) scores. Men were slightly more responsive to placebo than were women (29.8%, n = 94 vs. 24.3%, n = 103). Married patients demonstrated the highest probability of a positive placebo response (38.15%, n = 76), as compared with widowed/separated/divorced (21.9%, n = 73) or single (16.7%, n = 48) patients. A trend toward an increased probability of placebo response was detected for patients aged 60 and above (35.7%, n = 14). Educational level achieved and duration of illness were not predictive. Severity of illness proved most noteworthy, with the placebo response rate higher in the more mild patients (40.8%, n = 27 vs. 23.4%, n = 77). Author.
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