SynthesisAnnals of clinical psychiatry : official journal of the American Academy of Clinical Psychiatrists2017
The placebo effect and its clinical associations in gambling disorder.
Synthesis in Annals of clinical psychiatry : official journal of the American Academy of Clinical Psychiatrists, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled 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
- Pharmacological Treatments for Disordered Gambling: A Meta-analysis.Journal of gambling studies · 2019Pooled it
- Factors Influencing Treatment Outcomes in a Randomized Clinical Trial for Gambling Disorder: A Secondary Analysis.European addiction research · 2026Trial
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundAlthough gambling disorder is prevalent and functionally impairing, no FDA-approved medications exist for its treatment. The ability of clinical trials to detect the benefits of active treatment has been hindered by an unusually high placebo response. Virtually nothing is known about baseline clinical characteristics that might predict placebo response in those with gambling disorder.
methodsParticipants (N = 152) assigned to placebo were pooled from multiple double-blind trials of gambling disorder. Participants were classified as placebo responders or non-responders based on a cut-off of 35% reduction in symptom severity on the Gambling Symptom Assessment Scale. Baseline group differences were characterized using t tests and equivalent non-parametric tests as appropriate.
resultsFifty-one percent of individuals assigned to placebo showed a significant clinical response. Compared with non-responders, placebo responders remained in treatment for significantly longer, were more likely to report "enjoyment" as a trigger for gambling, and were less likely to state that "boredom" or "loneliness" triggered their gambling. Placebo responders and non-responders did not differ significantly in age, sex, age at symptom onset, baseline symptom severity, comorbidities, or likelihood of having received a previous treatment.
conclusionsPredictors of placebo response for gambling disorder appear markedly different from those reported for other mental illnesses.
Indexed as
Identifiers
28738096PMC5540171What 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.