Clinical trials often compare participants who are treated with a new drug with those who take placebo pills. Placebos are identical to the drug but contain no active ingredients. The placebo effect occurs when a patient taking the placebo experiences a psychological benefit because they believe they are receiving treatment. Now research reports that participants who take drugs or placebo pills as prescribed have better health outcomes.
The study, published in the BMJ, investigated the association between taking medication or placebo as prescribed and the number of deaths. Researchers from the University of Alberta in Canada, analyzed the data of 21 studies including 46,847 participants, with 19,633 of those participants taking placebos. The studies included drug trials for patients with type 2 diabetes, HIV, cardiovascular disease, immune suppression, and other medical problems.
The researchers found that participants who took beneficial medication or placebo pills as prescribed had a 44 percent lower risk of death, than those who missed doses. However, in two studies of harmful drugs, good adherence to pill taking increased the risk of death. The study authors suggest that taking pills as prescribed may be a characteristic of people with overall healthy behavior.
"Good adherence to drug therapy is associated with positive health outcomes," the study authors conclude. "Moreover, the observed association between good adherence to placebo and mortality supports the existence of the "healthy adherer" effect, whereby adherence to drug therapy may be a surrogate marker for overall healthy behavior."
REFERENCES:
1. Simpson SH et al. A meta-analysis of the association between adherence to drug therapy and mortality. BMJ 2006 Jul 1;333(7557):15. Epub 2006 Jun 21.
Posted by Brad Chase on November 21, 2006 06:06 PM
