Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41585458›Full record

ArticleF1000Research2025

Sex differences in the efficacy and tolerability of antipsychotic drugs in people with an acute exacerbation of schizophrenia: protocol for an individual-participant-data, dose-response, network meta-analysis.

Spyridon Siafis, Yuki Furukawa, Johannes Schneider-Thoma, Nobuyuki Nomura, Natalia E Fares-Otero, Bram W C Storosum, Jasper B Zantvoord, Christian Schwarz, Julia Schulz, Horst Naiser and 6 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in F1000Research, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–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

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
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

16 authors.

Spyridon SiafisTechnical University of Munich, TUM School of Medicine and Health, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Munich, Germany.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8264-2039
Yuki FurukawaTechnical University of Munich, TUM School of Medicine and Health, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Munich, Germany.
Johannes Schneider-ThomaTechnical University of Munich, TUM School of Medicine and Health, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Munich, Germany.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3448-9532
Nobuyuki NomuraTechnical University of Munich, TUM School of Medicine and Health, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Munich, Germany.
Natalia E Fares-OteroTechnical University of Munich, TUM School of Medicine and Health, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Munich, Germany.
Bram W C StorosumDepartment of Psychiatry, Amsterdam UMC, Amsterdam Neuroscience, Location Academic Medical Centre, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Jasper B ZantvoordDepartment of Psychiatry, Amsterdam UMC, Amsterdam Neuroscience, Location Academic Medical Centre, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Christian SchwarzBASTA-Bündnis für psychisch erkrankte Menschen, Munich, Germany.
Julia SchulzBASTA-Bündnis für psychisch erkrankte Menschen, Munich, Germany.
Horst NaiserBASTA-Bündnis für psychisch erkrankte Menschen, Munich, Germany.
Karl Heinz MöhrmannLandesverband Bayern der Angehörigen psychisch erkrankter Menschen e.V., Munich, Germany.
Josef PrillerTechnical University of Munich, TUM School of Medicine and Health, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Munich, Germany.
John M DavisPsychiatric Institute, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3963-1654
Orestis EfthimiouInstitute of Primary Health Care (BIHAM), University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
Georgia SalantiInstitute of Social and Preventive Medicine (ISPM), University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
Stefan LeuchtTechnical University of Munich, TUM School of Medicine and Health, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Munich, Germany.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4934-4352

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: There are currently no sex-specific recommendations for antipsychotic prescribing in schizophrenia, although women may be more susceptible to certain side-effects and may require lower doses to achieve comparable efficacy to men. However, sex differences remain insufficiently studied to inform treatment decisions. Methods: We plan a systematic review and individual-participant-data meta-analysis of randomized trials comparing different antipsychotic drugs, doses, formulations with each other or with placebo in adults with acute schizophrenia. Eligible studies will be identified through the Vivli platform, and their individual-participant-data will be harmonized into a common dataset. Two independent reviewers will screen search results and assess risk of bias using the Risk of Bias 2 tool. The primary outcome will be overall symptoms of schizophrenia, and secondary outcomes will include a broad range of efficacy, tolerability, acceptability, and dosing measures.A stepwise approach to data synthesis will be adopted, depending on individual-participant-data availability, aiming to examine sex differences in the effects of antipsychotic drugs compared to placebo. If sufficient data are available, we will conduct random-effects meta-analyses using regression models to evaluate biological sex, typically categorised as male or female, as both a prognostic factor and an effect modifier, network meta-analyses to synthesize direct and indirect evidence, and dose-response meta-analyses using restricted cubic splines to explore dose-effect relationships. The robustness of the findings will be assessed through sensitivity analyses adjusting for additional covariates.The certainty of evidence on sex differences will be evaluated using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) approach for subgroup analysis. If the certainty is judged to be moderate or high, sex-specific treatment effects will be further assessed using the Confidence in Network Meta-Analysis (CINeMA) framework. Discussion: This study will examine sex differences in the efficacy, tolerability, and dosing of antipsychotics in acute schizophrenia, potentially contributing to evidence-based, sex-specific treatment recommendations for antipsychotic prescribing.

Indexed as

Antipsychotic AgentsSchizophreniaSex CharacteristicsDose-Response Relationship, DrugFemaleHumansMaleNetwork Meta-Analysis as TopicRandomized Controlled Trials as TopicResearch DesignSex FactorsSystematic Reviews as TopicTreatment OutcomeAntipsychotic AgentsAntipsychotics; psychosis; sex differences; systematic review; IPD meta-analysis; precision psychiatry

Identifiers

PMID41585458
PMCPMC12824477

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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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.