ReviewBrain, behavior, & immunity - health2024
Risk factors associated with nocebo effects: A review of reviews.
Review in Brain, behavior, & immunity - health, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers, 1 of them a synthesis 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
15 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Negative expectations and measurable movement mechanics: a scoping review of the nocebo effect on motor performance.Frontiers in human neuroscience · 2025Pooled it
- Positive social modeling attenuates nocebo side effects.Annals of behavioral medicine : a publication of the Society of Behavioral Medicine · 2025Trial
- Anticipated and Actual Pain Intensity in Patients Receiving Intravitreal Injections: A Cross Sectional Study.Nursing open · 2026Article
- Psychological Factors and Treatment Experiences Associated With Chemotherapy Side-Effect Expectations and Symptom Severity: A Prospective Longitudinal Study.Cancer medicine · 2026Article
- Impact of medication side effects on medication adherence and implications for treatment outcomes in patients with borderline personality disorder: a pilot study.BMC psychiatry · 2026Article
- The Multifaceted Role of Social Media in Pain Medicine: Innovation, Education, Patient Engagement, and Challenges.Current pain and headache reports · 2026Review
- The High-Risk Model of Threat Perception Modulates Learning of Placebo and Nocebo Effects and Functional Somatic Disorders.Brain sciences · 2025Review
- Not so great expectations: The role of price and name information in the nocebo effect.Exploratory research in clinical and social pharmacy · 2025Article
- Placebo and nocebo phenomena in schizophrenia spectrum disorders: a narrative review on current knowledge and potential future directions.Psychological medicine · 2025Review
- Illness Expectations and Asthma Symptoms: A 6-Month Longitudinal Study.Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy · 2025Article
- Justice for Placebo: Placebo Effect in Clinical Trials and Everyday Practice.Medicines (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Identification of Psychosocial and Sociodemographic Factors Associated with Low Medication Awareness in COPD Subjects: A Cross-Sectional Study, Findings from the Indonesian Family Life Survey 5.International journal of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease · 2025Article
- Case Report: Practical approach to unmask unspecific adverse effects under lipid-lowering medication.Frontiers in cardiovascular medicine · 2025Article
- Optimized communication during risk disclosure to reduce nocebo headache after lumbar puncture-a study protocol for a randomized controlled clinical trial.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Article
- Biosimilars in the Era of Artificial Intelligence-International Regulations and the Use in Oncological Treatments.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Objective: This meta-review aims to identify and categorize the risk factors that are associated with nocebo effects. The nocebo effect can exert a negative impact on treatment outcomes and have detrimental outcomes on health. Learning more about its potential predictors and risk factors is a crucial step to mitigating it. Methods: Literature review studies about the risk factors for nocebo effects were searched through five databases (PubMed, Scopus, The Cochrane Library, PsycINFO, and Embase) and through grey literature. Methodological validity and risk of bias were assessed. We conducted a thematic analysis of the results of the forty-three included reviews. Results: We identified nine categories of risk factors: prior expectations and learning; socio-demographic characteristics; personality and individual differences; neurodegenerative conditions; inflammatory conditions; communication of information and patient-physician relationship; drug characteristics; setting; and self-awareness. We also highlighted the main biochemical and neurophysiological mechanisms underlying nocebo effects. Conclusions: Nocebo effects arise from expectations of adverse symptoms, particularly when triggered by previous negative experiences. A trusting relationship with the treating physician and clear, tailored treatment instructions can act as protective factors against a nocebo effect. Clinical implications are discussed.
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.