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Placebo response in binge eating disorder
M Joy Jacobs-Pilipski1, Denise E Wilfley, Scott J Crow
1UCSD Eating Disorders Treatment Center, San Diego, California, USA.
The International Journal of Eating Disorders
|November 15, 2006
Summary
Binge eating disorder (BED) patients who responded to placebo had less severe symptoms initially but often experienced symptom recurrence. This suggests the BED diagnosis may not always be stable.
Area of Science:
- Psychiatry
- Clinical Psychology
- Pharmacology
Background:
- Placebo response in binge eating disorder (BED) studies raises questions about diagnostic stability.
- Understanding placebo response is crucial for accurate BED diagnosis and treatment evaluation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare placebo responders (PRs) with nonresponders (NRs) in BED patients.
- To investigate the long-term course of BED following a placebo response.
- To explore patient attributions for placebo response in BED.
Main Methods:
- A randomized controlled trial (RCT) baseline placebo run-in phase included 451 participants diagnosed with BED (ages 19-63).
- Participants were categorized as placebo responders (PRs) or nonresponders (NRs).
- A follow-up assessment was conducted on a subset of 33 PRs.
Main Results:
- 32.6% of participants responded to placebo (147 PRs vs. 304 NRs).
- PRs demonstrated significantly lower baseline symptom severity compared to NRs.
- At follow-up, a notable proportion of PRs reported persistent BED symptoms.
Conclusions:
- Placebo responders in BED studies exhibit less severe pathology than nonresponders.
- The placebo response in BED may be transient or incomplete, indicating potential diagnostic variability.
- These findings suggest that the diagnosis of BED might have variable stability over time.
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