SynthesisBMJ open2023
Placebo and nocebo effects and mechanisms associated with pharmacological interventions: an umbrella review.
Synthesis in BMJ open, 2023. 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, 28 citations in OpenAlex.
- The incidence of sleepiness in newer-generation antihistamine users: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.European journal of clinical pharmacology · 2026Pooled it
- Nocebo effects in long-term health conditions: a systematic review of experimental studies.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Pooled it
- Placebo effects in randomized trials of pharmacological and neurostimulation interventions for mental disorders: An umbrella review.Molecular psychiatry · 2024Pooled it
- Trial
- Placebo effects in alternative medical treatments for anxiety: false hope or healing potential?CNS spectrums · 2025Trial
- Comparison of the effectiveness of botulinum toxin, dry needling, pharmacological treatment, and manual therapy for bruxism-induced myalgia: a prospective randomized study.Journal of oral & facial pain and headache · 2024Trial
- Citrus supplementation in subjective cognitive decline: results of a 36-week, randomized, placebo-controlled trial.Nutrition journal · 2024Trial
- Medicinal Mushrooms and Their Bioactive Compounds: From Traditional Use to Therapeutic Potential.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Mavodelpar in patients with primary mitochondrial myopathy: a phase 1 trial.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Article
- The "Are You OK?" Paradox: A Scoping Review of Nocebo and Negative Suggestion in Healthcare Communication.Dentistry journal · 2026Review
- Informing the patient of the placebo option: an ethical necessity likely to reduce inappropriate psychotropic prescriptions?Therapeutic advances in psychopharmacology · 2026Review
- Article
- Patient-Reported Outcomes With Immediate-Loaded Zygomatic Implant Fixed Rehabilitation in Patients With Edentulous Atrophic Maxilla: A Retrospective Practice-Based Clinical Study.Clinical oral implants research · 2025Article
- Is It All in Your Head? Placebo Effects in Concussion Prevention.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2025Review
- The spread of mind: psychological contagion in theory and critique.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Review
- The association between test anxiety, learning strategies, and open-label placebo effects on academic test performance: a secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Article
- Outcome Selection for Research Studies in Movement Disorders.Movement disorders clinical practice · 2024Article
- Risk factors associated with nocebo effects: A review of reviews.Brain, behavior, & immunity - health · 2024Review
- Belief That Caffeine Ingestion Improves Performance in a 6-Minute Time Trial Test without Affecting Pacing Strategy.Nutrients · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 3 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesThis review aimed to summarise the existing knowledge about placebo and nocebo effects associated with pharmacological interventions and their mechanisms.
designUmbrella review, adopting the Assessment of Multiple Systematic Reviews 2 tool for critical appraisal. DATA SOURCES: MEDLINE/PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, PsycINFO, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trial were searched in September 2022, without any time restriction, for systematic reviews, narrative reviews, original articles. Results were summarised through narrative synthesis, tables, 95% CI. OUTCOME MEASURES: Mechanisms underlying placebo/nocebo effects and/or their effect sizes.
resultsThe databases search identified 372 studies, for a total of 158 312 participants, comprising 41 systematic reviews, 312 narrative reviews and 19 original articles. Seventy-three per cent of the examined systematic reviews were of high quality.Our findings revealed that mechanisms underlying placebo and/or nocebo effects have been characterised, at least in part, for: pain, non-noxious somatic sensation, Parkinson's disease, migraine, sleep disorders, intellectual disability, depression, anxiety, dementia, addiction, gynaecological disorders, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, immune and endocrine systems, cardiovascular and respiratory systems, gastrointestinal disorders, skin diseases, influenza and related vaccines, oncology, obesity, physical and cognitive performance. Their magnitude ranged from 0.08 to 2.01 (95% CI 0.37 to 0.89) for placebo effects and from 0.32 to 0.90 (95% CI 0.24 to 1.00) for nocebo effects.
conclusionsThis study provides a valuable tool for clinicians and researchers, identifying both results ready for clinical practice and gaps to address in the near future.
fundingUniversità Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan, Italy with the 'Finanziamento Ponte 2022' grant. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42023392281.
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.