Antidepressant Trial Results Exaggerated

A new study shows a problem with past reporting of antidepressant research. The analysis finds selective publication in reporting exaggerates the effectiveness of antidepressants.

The study was led by Erick Turner, MD, assistant professor of psychiatry, physiology and pharmacology at Oregon Health & Science University and Medical Director of the Portland Veterans Affairs Medical Center’s Mood Disorders Program. Turner and colleagues looked at reviews from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for trials on 12 widely used antidepressants drugs. The analysis included more than 12,500 patients. They looked at whether the research was published and if it was they then compared the actual results of the trial with the FDA version of the results.

Turner’s team found that whether and how the studies were published depended on how they turned out. They found 94 percent of the published studies had positive results, but the FDA data showed only half of the studies they were informed of were positive. All but one of the positive studies were published while most of the studies that were not positive were not published or they were published with a positive spin.

“Selective publication can lead doctors and patients to believe drugs are more effective than they really are, which can influence prescribing decisions,” writes Turner. “Doctors and patients must have access to evidence that is complete and unbiased when they are weighing the risks and benefits of treatment.”

SOURCE: New England Journal of Medicine, Jan. 2008