Objective: Recent meta-analyses of antidepressant clinical trials have suggested that up to 82 % of response can be attributed to non-medication-related factors. The present study examines psychiatrists' attitudes regarding non-pharmacologic factors within the context of antidepressant pharmacotherapy.
Methods: A web-based, 20-question cross-sectional survey was distributed to 101 staff psychiatrists and 48 post-graduate trainees in psychiatry at an academic hospital in Boston, MA. Demographics, practice characteristics, beliefs about non-pharmacologic factors affecting prescribing practices, perceived response and remission rates, and opinions about the need for further investigations in the psychopharmacology process were assessed.
Results: Overall completion rate was 53 %. The final sample included 79 responses. The medians for clinician-perceived response rates (54 %) and remission rates (33 %) were in agreement with published rates. The reported median of the what portion of clinical outcomes is believed to be due to placebo effects (26 %) was numerically lower than suggested by literature. The contribution of the active ingredients of medications was perceived to be significantly higher than the contribution of patient characteristics and clinician characteristics. A longer time since graduation from medical school was significantly associated with higher belief in the effect of the active ingredients of antidepressant medications and with less perceived importance of placebo effects.
Conclusion: These findings suggest a discrepancy between empirical evidence and psychiatrists' beliefs on the impact of placebo effects on clinical outcomes. Educating antidepressant prescribers about the evidence based on psychosocial mediators of placebo effects' contribution to outcome may represent a promising strategy for improving clinical outcomes.
Keywords: Antidepressants; Clinical outcomes; Non-pharmacologic factors; Placebo effects; Survey.