SynthesisPloS one2008
Are child and adolescent responses to placebo higher in major depression than in anxiety disorders? A systematic review of placebo-controlled trials.
Synthesis in PloS one, 2008. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 22 papers, 7 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
22 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 70 citations in OpenAlex.
- Placebo and nocebo effects of pharmacotherapy for obsessive-compulsive related disorders: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Acta neuropsychiatrica · 2026Pooled it
- Comparing apples and oranges in youth depression treatments? A quantitative critique of the evidence base and guidelines.BMJ mental health · 2025Pooled it
- Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of the Placebo Effect and its Correlates in Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.Canadian journal of psychiatry. Revue canadienne de psychiatrie · 2023Pooled it
- Placebo response in trials with patients with anxiety, obsessive-compulsive and stress disorders across the lifespan: a three-level meta-analysis.BMJ mental health · 2023Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Evidence-based treatments for youths with severely dysregulated mood: a qualitative systematic review of trials for SMD and DMDD.European child & adolescent psychiatry · 2017Pooled it
- Deconstructing pediatric depression trials: an analysis of the effects of expectancy and therapeutic contact.Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry · 2011Pooled it
- A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial of Vilazodone in Children and Adolescents with Major Depressive Disorder with Twenty-Six-Week Open-Label Follow-Up.Journal of child and adolescent psychopharmacology · 2020Trial
- Effectiveness of individualized rTMS under sMRI guidance in reducing depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation in adolescents with depressive disorders: an open-label study.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2024Article
- Psychopharmacological Approaches to a Case of Treatment Resistant Adolescent Depression.Journal of the Canadian Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry = Journal de l'Academie canadienne de psychiatrie de l'enfant et de l'adolescent · 2022Article
- Influence of motivational placebo-related factors on the effects of exercise treatment in depressive adolescents.European child & adolescent psychiatry · 2022Article
- Talking to Children and Families about Chronic Pain: The Importance of Pain Education-An Introduction for Pediatricians and Other Health Care Providers.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2020Review
- Editorial: Antidepressant Prescriptions in Children and Adolescents.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2020Article
- Short- and Long-Term Antidepressant Clinical Trials for Major Depressive Disorder in Youth: Findings and Concerns.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2019Review
- Drug versus placebo randomized controlled trials in neonates: A review of ClinicalTrials.gov registry.PloS one · 2017Article
- Pain and placebo in pediatrics: a comprehensive review of laboratory and clinical findings.Pain · 2014Review
- Antidepressant and antipsychotic use in an Italian pediatric population.BMC pediatrics · 2011Article
- Escitalopram in the treatment of major depressive disorder in adolescent patients. Profile report.CNS drugs · 2010Article
- Escitalopram: in the treatment of major depressive disorder in adolescent patients.Paediatric drugs · 2010Review
- Medication use in adolescents treated in a French psychiatric setting for acute manic or mixed episode.Journal of the Canadian Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry = Journal de l'Academie canadienne de psychiatrie de l'enfant et de l'adolescent · 2009Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 6 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundIn a previous report, we hypothesized that responses to placebo were high in child and adolescent depression because of specific psychopathological factors associated with youth major depression. The purpose of this study was to compare the placebo response rates in pharmacological trials for major depressive disorder (MDD), obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and other anxiety disorders (AD-non-OCD). METHODOLOGY AND PRINCIPAL
findingsWe reviewed the literature relevant to the use of psychotropic medication in children and adolescents with internalized disorders, restricting our review to double-blind studies including a placebo arm. Placebo response rates were pooled and compared according to diagnosis (MDD vs. OCD vs. AD-non-OCD), age (adolescent vs. child), and date of publication. From 1972 to 2007, we found 23 trials that evaluated the efficacy of psychotropic medication (mainly non-tricyclic antidepressants) involving youth with MDD, 7 pertaining to youth with OCD, and 10 pertaining to youth with other anxiety disorders (N = 2533 patients in placebo arms). As hypothesized, the placebo response rate was significantly higher in studies on MDD, than in those examining OCD and AD-non-OCD (49.6% [range: 17-90%] vs. 31% [range: 4-41%] vs. 39.6% [range: 9-53], respectively, ANOVA F = 7.1, p = 0.002). Children showed a higher stable placebo response within all three diagnoses than adolescents, though this difference was not significant. Finally, no significant effects were found with respect to the year of publication.
conclusionMDD in children and adolescents appears to be more responsive to placebo than other internalized conditions, which highlights differential psychopathology.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.