Evidence map›Paper›PMID 28299460›Full record

SynthesisClinical rheumatology2017

The placebo effect and its determinants in fibromyalgia: meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials.

Xi Chen, Kun Zou, Natasya Abdullah, Nicola Whiteside, Aliya Sarmanova, Michael Doherty, Weiya Zhang

Abstract readMeta-Analysis
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Clinical rheumatology, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 34 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
34citing papers in PubMed, 4 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

34 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
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  13. UK Medical Cannabis Registry: An Updated Analysis of Inflammatory Arthritis.Clinical medicine insights. Arthritis and musculoskeletal disorders · 2026
    Article
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  17. Contextual effects: how to, and how not to, quantify them.BMC medical research methodology · 2024
    Review
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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

7 authors.

Xi ChenArthritis Research UK Pain Centre, Academic Rheumatology, Division of Rheumatology, Orthopaedics and Dermatology, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK.
Kun ZouArthritis Research UK Pain Centre, Academic Rheumatology, Division of Rheumatology, Orthopaedics and Dermatology, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK.
Natasya AbdullahArthritis Research UK Pain Centre, Academic Rheumatology, Division of Rheumatology, Orthopaedics and Dermatology, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK.
Nicola WhitesideArthritis Research UK Pain Centre, Academic Rheumatology, Division of Rheumatology, Orthopaedics and Dermatology, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK.
Aliya SarmanovaArthritis Research UK Pain Centre, Academic Rheumatology, Division of Rheumatology, Orthopaedics and Dermatology, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK.
Michael DohertyArthritis Research UK Pain Centre, Academic Rheumatology, Division of Rheumatology, Orthopaedics and Dermatology, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK.
Weiya ZhangArthritis Research UK Pain Centre, Academic Rheumatology, Division of Rheumatology, Orthopaedics and Dermatology, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK. weiya.zhang@nottingham.ac.uk.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The aims of this study were to determine whether placebo treatment in randomised controlled trials (RCTs) is effective for fibromyalgia and to identify possible determinants of the magnitude of any such placebo effect. A systematic literature search was undertaken for RCTs in people with fibromyalgia that included a placebo and/or a no-treatment (observation only or waiting list) control group. Placebo effect size (ES) for pain and other outcomes was measured as the improvement of each outcome from baseline divided by the standard deviation of the change from baseline. This effect was compared with changes in the no-treatment control groups. Meta-analysis was undertaken to combine data from different studies. Subgroup analysis was conducted to identify possible determinants of the placebo ES. A total of 3912 studies were identified from the literature search. After scrutiny, 229 trials met the inclusion criteria. Participants who received placebo in the RCTs experienced significantly better improvements in pain, fatigue, sleep quality, physical function, and other main outcomes than those receiving no treatment. The ES of placebo for pain relief was clinically moderate (0.53, 95%CI 0.48 to 0.57). The ES increased with increasing strength of the active treatment, increasing participant age and higher baseline pain severity, but decreased in RCTS with more women and with longer duration of fibromyalgia. In addition, placebo treatment in RCTs is effective in fibromyalgia. A number of factors (expected strength of treatment, age, gender, disease duration) appear to influence the magnitude of the placebo effect in this condition.

Indexed as

Placebo EffectFibromyalgiaHumansPain ManagementFibromyalgiaMeta-analysisPain managementPlacebo effectRheumatic diseasesSystematic reviews and methodology

Identifiers

PMID28299460
PMCPMC5486479

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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.