Placebo response in trials with patients with anxiety, obsessive-compulsive and stress disorders across the lifespan: a three-level meta-analysis.

QUESTION: Randomised controlled trials assessing treatments for anxiety, obsessive-compulsive and stress-related disorders often present high placebo response rates in placebo groups. Understanding the placebo response is essential in accurately estimating the benefits of pharmacological agents; nevertheless, no studies have evaluated the placebo response across these disorders using a lifespan approach. STUDY SELECTION AND ANALYSIS: We searched MEDLINE, PsycINFO, Embase, Cochrane, websites of regulatory agencies and international registers from inception to 9 September 2022. The primary outcome was the aggregate measure of internalising symptoms of participants in the placebo arms of randomised controlled trials designed to assess the efficacy of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) in individuals diagnosed with anxiety, obsessive-compulsive or stress-related disorders. The secondary outcomes were placebo response and remission rates. Data were analysed through a three-level meta-analysis. FINDINGS: We analysed 366 outcome measures from 135 studies (n=12 583). We found a large overall placebo response (standardised mean difference (SMD)=-1.11, 95% CI -1.22 to -1.00). The average response and remission rates in placebo groups were 37% and 24%, respectively. Larger placebo response was associated with a diagnosis of generalised anxiety disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder, when compared with panic, social anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder (SMD range, 0.40-0.49), and with absence of a placebo lead-in period (SMD=0.44, 95% CI 0.10 to 0.78). No significant differences were found in placebo response across age groups. We found substantial heterogeneity and moderate risk of bias. CONCLUSIONS: Placebo response is substantial in SSRI and SNRI trials for anxiety, obsessive-compulsive and stress-related disorders. Clinicians and researchers should accurately interpret the benefits of pharmacological agents in contrast to placebo response. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42017069090.

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, and serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors for anxiety, obsessive-compulsive, and stress disorders: A 3-level network meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Anxiety, obsessive-compulsive, and stress-related disorders frequently co-occur, and patients often present symptoms of several domains. Treatment involves the use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs), but data on comparative efficacy and acceptability are lacking. We aimed to compare the efficacy of SSRIs, SNRIs, and placebo in multiple symptom domains in patients with these diagnoses over the lifespan through a 3-level network meta-analysis. METHODS AND FINDINGS: We searched for published and unpublished randomized controlled trials that aimed to assess the efficacy of SSRIs or SNRIs in participants (adults and children) with diagnosis of any anxiety, obsessive-compulsive, or stress-related disorder in MEDLINE, PsycINFO, Embase, and Cochrane Library from inception to 23 April 2015, with an update on 11 November 2020. We supplemented electronic database searches with manual searches for published and unpublished randomized controlled trials registered in publicly accessible clinical trial registries and pharmaceutical companies' databases. No restriction was made regarding comorbidities with any other mental disorder, participants' age and sex, blinding of participants and researchers, date of publication, or study language. The primary outcome was the aggregate measure of internalizing symptoms of these disorders. Secondary outcomes included specific symptom domains and treatment discontinuation rate. We estimated standardized mean differences (SMDs) with 3-level network meta-analysis with random slopes by study for medication and assessment instrument. Risk of bias appraisal was performed using the Cochrane Collaboration's risk of bias tool. This study was registered in PROSPERO (CRD42017069090). We analyzed 469 outcome measures from 135 studies (n = 30,245). All medications were more effective than placebo for the aggregate measure of internalizing symptoms (SMD -0.56, 95% CI -0.62 to -0.51, p < 0.001), for all symptom domains, and in patients from all diagnostic categories. We also found significant results when restricting to the most used assessment instrument for each diagnosis; nevertheless, this restriction led to exclusion of 72.71% of outcome measures. Pairwise comparisons revealed only small differences between medications in efficacy and acceptability. Limitations include the moderate heterogeneity found in most outcomes and the moderate risk of bias identified in most of the trials. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, we observed that all SSRIs and SNRIs were effective for multiple symptom domains, and in patients from all included diagnostic categories. We found minimal differences between medications concerning efficacy and acceptability. This three-level network meta-analysis contributes to an ongoing discussion about the true benefit of antidepressants with robust evidence, considering the significantly larger quantity of data and higher statistical power when compared to previous studies. The 3-level approach allowed us to properly assess the efficacy of these medications on internalizing psychopathology, avoiding potential biases related to the exclusion of information due to distinct assessment instruments, and to explore the multilevel structure of transdiagnostic efficacy.

Satisfaction with care in a Brazilian psychiatric inpatient unit: differences in perceptions among patients according to type of health insurance.

INTRODUCTION: User satisfaction assessment in mental health services is an important indicator of treatment quality. The objective of this study was to evaluate treatment satisfaction in a sample of inpatients with mental disorders and the associations between levels of satisfaction and clinical/sociodemographic variables. METHODS: This exploratory study investigated 227 psychiatric inpatients who answered the Patient Satisfaction with Mental Health Services Scale (SATIS-BR) and the Perception of Change Scale (EMP). SATIS scores were analyzed according to associations with clinical and sociodemographic data. Pearson correlations were used to correlate SATIS scores with other variables. RESULTS: We found a high degree of satisfaction with care at the psychiatric inpatient unit assessed. In general, patients rated maximum satisfaction for most items. The highest satisfaction scores were associated with patients receiving treatment through the Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS) and with less education. SATIS showed a moderate positive correlation with EMP. The worst evaluated dimension was physical facilities and comfort of the ward. CONCLUSION: Patients treated via SUS may be more satisfied than patients with private health insurance when treated in the same facility. The evaluation of treatment satisfaction can be used to reorganize services at psychiatric inpatient units.

Satisfaction with care in a Brazilian psychiatric inpatient unit: differences in perceptions among patients according to type of health insurance / Satisfação com o cuidado em uma unidade de internação psiquiátrica brasileira: diferenças nas percepções dos pacientes segundo tipo de plano de saúde

Abstract Introduction User satisfaction assessment in mental health services is an important indicator of treatment quality. The objective of this study was to evaluate treatment satisfaction in a sample of inpatients with mental disorders and the associations between levels of satisfaction and clinical/sociodemographic variables. Methods This exploratory study investigated 227 psychiatric inpatients who answered the Patient Satisfaction with Mental Health Services Scale (SATIS-BR) and the Perception of Change Scale (EMP). SATIS scores were analyzed according to associations with clinical and sociodemographic data. Pearson correlations were used to correlate SATIS scores with other variables. Results We found a high degree of satisfaction with care at the psychiatric inpatient unit assessed. In general, patients rated maximum satisfaction for most items. The highest satisfaction scores were associated with patients receiving treatment through the Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS) and with less education. SATIS showed a moderate positive correlation with EMP. The worst evaluated dimension was physical facilities and comfort of the ward. Conclusion Patients treated via SUS may be more satisfied than patients with private health insurance when treated in the same facility. The evaluation of treatment satisfaction can be used to reorganize services at psychiatric inpatient units.

Resumo Introdução A avaliação da satisfação do usuário nos serviços de saúde mental é um importante indicador da qualidade do tratamento. O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar a satisfação com o tratamento em uma amostra de pacientes internados com transtornos mentais e as associações entre os níveis de satisfação e variáveis clínicas/sociodemográficas. Métodos Este estudo exploratório investigou 227 pacientes psiquiátricos internados que responderam a Escala de Satisfação do Paciente com os Serviços de Saúde Mental (SATIS-BR) e a Escala de Percepção da Mudança (EMP). Os escores SATIS-BR foram analisados segundo associações com dados clínicos e sociodemográficos. Correlações de Pearson foram usadas para correlacionar escores SATIS com outras variáveis. Resultados Encontramos alto grau de satisfação com o atendimento na unidade de internação psiquiátrica avaliada. Em geral, os pacientes atribuíram satisfação máxima para a maioria dos itens. Os maiores escores de satisfação foram associados a pacientes em tratamento pelo Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS) e com menor escolaridade. A SATIS mostrou uma correlação positiva moderada com EMP. A pior dimensão avaliada foi associada às instalações físicas e conforto da enfermaria. Conclusão Pacientes com cobertura pelo SUS podem estar mais satisfeitos do que pacientes com planos privados de saúde quando tratados na mesma unidade. A avaliação da satisfação com o tratamento pode ser usada para reorganizar serviços em unidades de internação psiquiátrica.

Evaluation of DSM-5 and ICD-11 personality traits using the Personality Inventory for DSM-5 (PID-5) in a Brazilian sample of psychiatric inpatients.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to test if the Personality Inventory for DSM-5 (PID-5) is an adequate instrument to evaluate psychiatric inpatients' pathological personality traits. METHODS: Inpatients (n = 130; mean age: 38.5 years; 62.3% female; 63.9% single) answered the PID-5 after clinical improvement of their psychiatric symptoms. The mean scores of the DSM-5 personality domains, facets and profiles, and ICD-11 domain traits were compared with the mean scores of a Brazilian normative sample (n = 656). We investigated the diagnostic performance of the scales to identify individuals with and without psychopathology. RESULTS: The final sample included mainly diagnoses of mood disorders. Except for Antagonism and Disinhibition, all DSM-5 personality domains and most facets as well as almost all DSM-5 personality disorder profiles (except Narcissist) and ICD-11 trait domains (except Detachment and Dissociality) of the inpatients presented high differences compared with the normative sample. In general, the PID-5 scales presented a high negative predictive value and a low positive predictive value to identify individuals with severe psychopathology. DISCUSSION: This study found high scores of pathological personality traits in a sample of Brazilian psychiatric inpatients. The PID-5 may be a promising instrument to measure pathological personality traits among psychiatric inpatients. Methodological and sample size limitations may have influenced the results. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor in post-partum depressive mothers.

UNLABELLED: Postpartum depression (PPD) is the most common psychiatric complication observed in women after they give birth. Some women are particularly sensitive to hormonal changes, starting in early menarche, thus increasing their vulnerability to psychological stressing agents that are triggered by environmental and physiological factors throughout their lives. Decreased serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels have been associated to different neuropsychiatric conditions and BDNF has been considered as a candidate marker for such dysfunctions. The goal of this study was to compare the levels of BDNF between mothers who suffer from PPD and healthy control mothers as well as to searching for associations between BDNF levels and the severity of PPD. This is a case-control study including 36 mothers with PPD and 36 healthy control mothers. PPD was defined according to the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). Serum BDNF was assayed with the sandwich ELISA method. RESULTS: Serum levels of BDNF were significantly lower in women with PPD than in control mothers (P ≤ 0.03). A significant negative correlation between BDI score and serum BDNF levels was observed (P ≤ 0.02 and r = -0.29). Our study demonstrated that low BDNF levels are associated with PPD. This result point out to the potential usage of BDNF in the screening of PPD, which could promote early treatment and, therefore, reduce the burden to the PPD women and to the health system.

Differential regulation of IgG-NMO autoantibodies on S100Beta protein and disability in relapsing neuromyelitis optica.

Neuromyelitis optica (NMO), an uncommon central nervous system (CNS) demyelinating disease, produces transverse myelitis and severe optic neuritis. IgG-NMO autoantibody, a specific immunoglobulin binding aquaporin-4 water channel protein, confirms that NMO is a different entity to multiple sclerosis. Parallel to cytokine down-regulations found in serum of relapsing-NMO (rNMO) patients, it has been reported that IgG-NMO may also confer a worse course of the disease in r-NMO Caribbean patients. In this study, we were interested in exploring the influence of IgG-NMO autoantibody on S100beta levels and clinical parameters from serum of r-NMO patients. Serum samples from 24 rNMO patients and 10 controls were evaluated. The reduction of S100beta observed in r-NMO patients was not significant compared to controls; and no differences were present regarding IgG-NMO immunoreactivity. At the same time, a significant correlation was also observed between IgG-NMO autoantibody serum detection and EDSS (Expanded Disability Status Scale) in rNMO. These results corroborate a differential regulation of IgG-NMO autoantibodies on the S100beta glial marker and on the disability present in rNMO patients.