Evidence map›Paper›PMID 25762083›Full record

SynthesisSports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.)2015

Quantifying the placebo effect in psychological outcomes of exercise training: a meta-analysis of randomized trials.

Jacob B Lindheimer, Patrick J O'Connor, Rod K Dishman

Abstract readMeta-AnalysisReview
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.), 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 47 papers, 11 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
47citing papers in PubMed, 11 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

47 citing papers in PubMed, 11 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

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  7. Mental Well-Being or Ill-Being through Coaching in Adult Grassroots Sport: A Systematic Mapping Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Jacob B LindheimerDepartment of Kinesiology, University of Georgia, 330 River Road, Athens, GA, USA, Jakel@uga.edu.
Patrick J O'Connor
Rod K Dishman

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe placebo effect could account for some or all of the psychological benefits attributed to exercise training. The magnitude of the placebo effect in psychological outcomes of randomized controlled exercise training trials has not been quantified. The aim of this investigation was to estimate the magnitude of the population placebo effect in psychological outcomes from placebo conditions used in exercise training studies and compare it to the observed effect of exercise training.

methodsArticles published before 1 July 2013 were located using Google Scholar, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, and The Cochrane Library. To be included in the analysis, studies were required to have (1) a design that randomly assigned participants to exercise training, placebo, and control conditions and (2) an assessment of a subjective (i.e., anxiety, depression, energy, fatigue) or an objective (i.e., cognitive) psychological outcome. Meta-analytic and multi-level modeling techniques were used to analyze effects from nine studies involving 661 participants. Hedges' d effect sizes were calculated, and random effects models were used to estimate the overall magnitude of the placebo and exercise training effects.

resultsAfter adjusting for nesting effects, the placebo mean effect size was 0.20 (95% confidence interval [CI] -0.02, 0.41) and the observed effect of exercise training was 0.37 (95% CI 0.11, 0.63).

conclusionA small body of research suggests both that (1) the placebo effect is approximately half of the observed psychological benefits of exercise training and (2) there is an urgent need for creative research specifically aimed at better understanding the role of the placebo effect in the mental health consequences of exercise training.

Indexed as

Placebo EffectAnxietyCognitionDepressionExerciseFatigueHumansPain ManagementRandomized Controlled Trials as Topic

Identifiers

PMID25762083

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.