SynthesisJournal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England)2016
Propranolol for the treatment of anxiety disorders: Systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England), 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT03388957 (Evaluating of Oral Propranolol Effect on Managing Anxiety of Dental Extractions in Children), which is not on this map. Cited by 101 papers, 3 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.
Evaluating of Oral Propranolol Effect on Managing Anxiety of Dental Extractions in Children: A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial
Who cites it
101 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 227 citations in OpenAlex.
- Repurposed antihypertensive drugs for negative symptoms in schizophrenia: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Psychiatry and clinical neurosciences · 2025Pooled it
- Brazilian Psychiatric Association guidelines for the treatment of social anxiety disorder.Revista brasileira de psiquiatria (Sao Paulo, Brazil : 1999) · 2025Guideline
- Clonidine for post-traumatic stress disorder: a systematic review of the current evidence.European journal of psychotraumatology · 2024Pooled it
- Effects of the histone deacetylase inhibitor valproic acid in combination with fear-memory retrieval before exposure therapy for spider phobia: A randomized controlled trial.Psychological medicine · 2025Trial
- Short- and long-term effects of beta-blockers on symptoms of anxiety and depression in patients with myocardial infarction and preserved left ventricular function: a pre-specified quality of life sub-study from the REDUCE-AMI trial.European heart journal. Acute cardiovascular care · 2024Trial
- Post-retrieval oxytocin facilitates next day extinction of threat memory in humans.Psychopharmacology · 2019Trial
- Altered Insula Connectivity under MDMA.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2017Trial
- The effects of methylphenidate and propranolol on the interplay between induced-anxiety and working memory.Psychopharmacology · 2016Trial
- Beta-Blockers for the Treatment of Arrhythmias: Which Drug for Which Arrhythmia? A State-of-the-Art Narrative Review.American journal of cardiovascular drugs : drugs, devices, and other interventions · 2026Review
- Beta-Blocker Use and Self-Reported Sleep Changes Among Medical Students in Jordan: A Cross-Sectional Study.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Perioperative psycho-behavioral stress promotes cancer metastasis beyond the impact of surgery: Neuroendocrine and tumor molecular mediating mechanisms.Brain, behavior, & immunity - health · 2026Article
- Genetic perspectives on the comorbidity of anxiety and mood disorders with cardiovascular disease.Nature cardiovascular research · 2026Review
- Therapeutic potential of propranolol in central nervous system disorders.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Review
- Study of Metabolomic Markers of β-Blocker Neurotoxicity Using Zebrafish as a Model Organism.Bulletin of experimental biology and medicine · 2026Article
- Benefits and Liabilities of Benzodiazepines and Z-Drugs: What We Know and What We Don't Know.Drugs · 2026Review
- Propranolol reinstates mitochondrial dynamics and synaptic memory pathways through CaMKII/CREB-BDNF/ PKMζ cascades in an AD-like rat model.Frontiers in aging neuroscience · 2026Article
- Effect of Sacubitril/Valsartan, Ivabradine, and Captopril on Anxiety-like Behavior in Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Article
- The problem of propranolol poisoning.British journal of clinical pharmacology · 2025Article
- Structural and Pharmacological Insights into Propranolol: An Integrated Crystallographic Perspective.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- The Therapeutic Potential of Propranolol and Other Beta-Blockers in Hyperthyroidism.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
41 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The effects of propranolol in the treatment of anxiety disorders have not been systematically evaluated previously. The aim was to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials, addressing the efficacy of oral propranolol versus placebo or other medication as a treatment for alleviating either state or trait anxiety in patients suffering from anxiety disorders. Eight studies met the inclusion criteria. These studies concerned panic disorder with or without agoraphobia (four studies, total n = 130), specific phobia (two studies, total n = 37), social phobia (one study, n = 16), and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (one study, n = 19). Three out of four panic disorder trials qualified for pooled analyses. These meta-analyses found no statistically significant differences between the efficacy of propranolol and benzodiazepines regarding the short-term treatment of panic disorder with or without agoraphobia. Also, no evidence was found for effects of propranolol on PTSD symptom severity through inhibition of memory reconsolidation. In conclusion, the quality of evidence for the efficacy of propranolol at present is insufficient to support the routine use of propranolol in the treatment of any of the anxiety disorders.
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.