SynthesisMolecular psychiatry2022
Placebo and nocebo responses in randomised, controlled trials of medications for ADHD: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Molecular psychiatry, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 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
20 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Safety of Stimulants Across Patient Populations: A Meta-Analysis.JAMA network open · 2025Pooled it
- Placebo effects in randomized trials of pharmacological and neurostimulation interventions for mental disorders: An umbrella review.Molecular psychiatry · 2024Pooled it
- Memory retention following acoustic stimulation in slow-wave sleep: a meta-analytic review of replicability and measurement quality.Frontiers in sleep · 2023Pooled it
- Psychostimulant treatment uniquely reduces left uncinate fasciculus microstructural integrity in ADHD youth with a familial risk for bipolar I disorder: a 12-week DTI study.Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines · 2026Trial
- External trigeminal nerve stimulation in youth with ADHD: a randomized, sham-controlled, phase 2b trial.Nature medicine · 2026Trial
- Autonomic correlates of osteopathic manipulative treatment on facial functional mapping: an innovative approach based on thermal imaging.Scientific reports · 2025Trial
- Placebo-related improvement with methylphenidate treatment in children with ADHD.European child & adolescent psychiatry · 2025Trial
- Short-term effects of an elimination diet and healthy diet in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: a randomized-controlled trial.European child & adolescent psychiatry · 2024Trial
- Improving Methylphenidate Titration in Children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD): A Randomized Controlled Trial Using Placebo-Controlled Titration Implemented in Clinical Practice.Paediatric drugs · 2024Trial
- Methylphenidate dose-response in children with ADHD: evidence from a double-blind, randomized placebo-controlled titration trial.European child & adolescent psychiatry · 2024Trial
- Randomised controlled trial of the short-term effects of osmotic-release oral system methylphenidate on symptoms and behavioural outcomes in young male prisoners with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: CIAO-II study.The British journal of psychiatry : the journal of mental science · 2023Trial
- Trial
- Single-dose methylphenidate induces shift in functional connectivity associated with positive longer term clinical response in adult attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- An Open-Label Study of a Wearable Device Targeting ADHD, Executive Function, and Academic Performance.Brain sciences · 2023Article
- Predictors of placebo response in three large clinical trials of the V1a receptor antagonist balovaptan in autism spectrum disorder.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2023Article
- Mediators of Placebo Response to Cannabinoid Treatment in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.Journal of clinical medicine · 2023Article
- The future of psychopharmacology: a critical appraisal of ongoing phase 2/3 trials, and of some current trends aiming to de-risk trial programmes of novel agents.World psychiatry : official journal of the World Psychiatric Association (WPA) · 2023Article
- Molecular Characterisation of the Mechanism of Action of Stimulant Drugs Lisdexamfetamine and Methylphenidate on ADHD Neurobiology: A Review.Neurology and therapy · 2022Review
- Viloxazine for Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Clinical Trials.Journal of central nervous system disease · 2022Article
- Utilization of Drugs for Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Among Young Patients in China, 2010-2019.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
Abstract
The nature and magnitude of placebo and nocebo responses to ADHD medications and the extent to which response to active medications and placebo are inter-correlated is unclear. To assess the magnitude of placebo and nocebo responses to ADHD and their association with active treatment response. We searched literature until June 26, 2019, for published/unpublished double-blind, randomised placebo-controlled trials (RCTs) of ADHD medication. Authors were contacted for additional data. We assessed placebo effects on efficacy and nocebo effects on tolerability using random effects meta-analysis. We assessed the association of study design and patient features with placebo/nocebo response. We analysed 128 RCTs (10,578 children/adolescents and 9175 adults) and found significant and heterogenous placebo effects for all efficacy outcomes, with no publication bias. The placebo effect was greatest for clinician compared with other raters. We found nocebo effects on tolerability outcomes. Efficacy outcomes from most raters showed significant positive correlations between the baseline to endpoint placebo effects and the baseline to endpoint drug effects. Placebo and nocebo effects did not differ among drugs. Baseline severity and type of rating scale influenced the findings. Shared non-specific factors influence response to both placebo and active medication. Although ADHD medications are superior to placebo, and placebo treatment in clinical practice is not feasible, clinicians should attempt to incorporate factors associated with placebo effects into clinical care. Future studies should explore how such effects influence response to medication treatment. Upon publication, data will be available in Mendeley Data: PROSPERO (CRD42019130292).
Indexed as
Identifiers
33972692What 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.