SynthesisJournal of clinical psychopharmacology2013
Placebo group improvement in trials of pharmacotherapies for alcohol use disorders: a multivariate meta-analysis examining change over time.
Synthesis in Journal of clinical psychopharmacology, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers, 6 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
8 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 20 citations in OpenAlex.
- Evaluating Reduced Use and Abstinence as Outcomes in Pharmacotherapy Trials for Stimulant Use Disorder: A Meta-Analysis of 12 Randomized Controlled Trials.JAMA psychiatry · 2026Pooled it
- Optimal Dose of Baclofen for the Treatment of Alcohol Use Disorder: A Systematic Review and Dose-Response Meta-analysis.CNS drugs · 2025Pooled it
- Placebo effects in randomized trials of pharmacological and neurostimulation interventions for mental disorders: An umbrella review.Molecular psychiatry · 2024Pooled it
- Placebo and nocebo effects in gambling disorder pharmacological trials: a meta-analysis.Acta neuropsychiatrica · 2024Pooled it
- Study Characteristics Influence the Efficacy of Substance Abuse Treatments: A Meta-analysis of Medications for Smoking Cessation.Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco · 2020Pooled it
- The declining efficacy of naltrexone pharmacotherapy for alcohol use disorders over time: a multivariate meta-analysis.Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research · 2013Pooled it
- Aerosol furosemide for dyspnea: High-dose controlled delivery does not improve effectiveness.Respiratory physiology & neurobiology · 2018Article
- Weak evidence on nalmefene creates dilemmas for clinicians and poses questions for regulators and researchers.Addiction (Abingdon, England) · 2016Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
objectivePlacebo group improvement in pharmacotherapy trials has been increasing over time across several pharmacological treatment areas. However, it is unknown to what degree increasing improvement has occurred in pharmacotherapy trials for alcohol use disorders or what factors may account for placebo group improvement. This meta-analysis of 47 alcohol pharmacotherapy trials evaluated (1) the magnitude of placebo group improvement, (2) the extent to which placebo group improvement has been increasing over time, and (3) several potential moderators that might account for variation in placebo group improvement.
methodRandom-effects univariate and multivariate analyses were conducted that examined the magnitude of placebo group improvement in the 47 studies and several potential moderators of improvement: (a) publication year, (b) country in which the study was conducted, (c) outcome data source/type, (d) number of placebo administrations, (e) overall severity of study participants, and (f) additional psychosocial treatment.
resultsSubstantial placebo group improvement was found overall and improvement was larger in more recent studies. Greater improvement was found on moderately subjective outcomes, with more frequent administrations of the placebo, and in studies with greater participant severity of illness. However, even after controlling for these moderators, placebo group improvement remained significant, as did placebo group improvement over time.
conclusionsSimilar to previous pharmacotherapy placebo research, substantial pretest to posttest placebo group improvement has occurred in alcohol pharmacotherapy trials, an effect that has been increasing over time. However, several plausible moderator variables were not able to explain why placebo group improvement has been increasing over time.
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.