ArticleTranslational psychiatry2012
Sampling bias in an internet treatment trial for depression.
Article in Translational psychiatry, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 23 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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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
23 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Pooled it
- A randomized controlled trial on a self-guided Internet-based intervention for gambling problems.Scientific reports · 2021Trial
- Trial
- Optimising text messaging to improve adherence to web-based smoking cessation treatment: a randomised control trial protocol.BMJ open · 2016Trial
- Trial
- Rethinking the dose-response relationship between usage and outcome in an online intervention for depression: randomized controlled trial.Journal of medical Internet research · 2013Trial
- The EVIDENT-trial: protocol and rationale of a multicenter randomized controlled trial testing the effectiveness of an online-based psychological intervention.BMC psychiatry · 2013Trial
- Trial
- The burden of shame: PTSD symptoms and social support in Arabic-speaking women survivors of sexual violence.European journal of psychotraumatology · 2026Article
- Cancer survivors' attitudes toward service delivery formats for interventions targeting cognitive impairments: a survey study.BMC health services research · 2026Article
- "Bottom of My Own List:" Barriers and Facilitators to Mental Health Support Use in Caregivers of Children with Neurodevelopmental Support Needs.Journal of autism and developmental disorders · 2025Article
- Adaptation and implementation of an employee mental health disclosure decision aid tool in a real-world sample.Translational behavioral medicine · 2024Article
- Needs and Demands for e-Mental Health Interventions in Individuals with Overweight and Obesity: User-Centred Design Approach.Obesity facts · 2023Article
- Utilization of an Electronic Patient-Reported Outcome Platform to Evaluate the Psychosocial and Quality-of-Life Experience Among a Community Sample of Ovarian Cancer Survivors.JCO clinical cancer informatics · 2022Article
- Supporting People Who Have Lost a Close Person by Bereavement or Separation: Protocol of a Randomized Controlled Trial Comparing Two French-Language Internet-Based Interventions.JMIR research protocols · 2022Article
- Usage Intensity of a Relapse Prevention Program and Its Relation to Symptom Severity in Remitted Patients With Anxiety and Depression: Pre-Post Study.JMIR mental health · 2022Article
- Web-Based Self-Management for Patients With Lymphoma: Assessment of the Reach of Intervention of a Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of medical Internet research · 2020Article
- A randomized trial of brief web-based prevention of unhealthy alcohol use: Participant self-selection compared to a male young adult source population.Internet interventions · 2020Article
- Preferences for Depression Treatment Including Internet-Based Interventions: Results From a Large Sample of Primary Care Patients.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2018Article
- Hormonal Contraception Use is Common Among Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Diseases and an Elevated Risk of Deep Vein Thrombosis.Inflammatory bowel diseases · 2016Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Internet psychological interventions are efficacious and may reduce traditional access barriers. No studies have evaluated whether any sampling bias exists in these trials that may limit the translation of the results of these trials into real-world application. We identified 7999 potentially eligible trial participants from a community-based health cohort study and invited them to participate in a randomized controlled trial of an online cognitive behavioural therapy programme for people with depression. We compared those who consented to being assessed for trial inclusion with nonconsenters on demographic, clinical and behavioural indicators captured in the health study. Any potentially biasing factors were then assessed for their association with depression outcome among trial participants to evaluate the existence of sampling bias. Of the 35 health survey variables explored, only 4 were independently associated with higher likelihood of consenting-female sex (odds ratio (OR) 1.11, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.05-1.19), speaking English at home (OR 1.48, 95% CI 1.15-1.90) higher education (OR 1.67, 95% CI 1.46-1.92) and a prior diagnosis of depression (OR 1.37, 95% CI 1.22-1.55). The multivariate model accounted for limited variance (C-statistic 0.6) in explaining participation. These four factors were not significantly associated with either the primary trial outcome measure or any differential impact by intervention arm. This demonstrates that, among eligible trial participants, few factors were associated with the consent to participate. There was no indication that such self-selection biased the trial results or would limit the generalizability and translation into a public or clinical setting.
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