The placebo effect: Stronger in Women?

[Danny]

Are women, more often than men, able to fool themselves and ignore reality
by believing a drug is working when it is not?

Nope - it's exactly the same between men and women if they're both told it
will work or are recommended it by their doc.

The subject of this email is misleading since I'm not discussing a placebo
effect -- where the placebo is truly effective. I am interested in sex
differences in cases of reported effectiveness from a placebo where no
measured effect was found.

Psychological speaking, suggestion is as strong for either sex. If a man
believes a woman fancies him, she fancies him. If a woman believes she looks
fat in a pair of shorts, she looks fat in a pair of shorts.
Drugs have the same influence.
Question is, are you referring to a woman buying a drug, using it, and
believing it to work regardless of the facts, as opposed to someone telling
her it will work?
If you are, then yes, women are, because, with all due respect to them, they
operate from different logic to men. Cold facts don't always register with
them.



'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`''`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`
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[James Michael Howard]

Clin Pharmacol Ther. 2001 Sep;70(3):287-91.

Gender and the placebo analgesic effect in acute pain.

Averbuch M, Katzper M.

Division of Analgesic, Anti-inflammatory and Ophthalmic Drug Products, Center
for Drug Evaluation and Research, Food and Drug Administration, Rockville, MD
20857, USA.

OBJECTIVE: Our objective was to examine the placebo arms from a series of
clinical trials in which the post-third molar extraction dental pain model was
used to elucidate the time course of the placebo effect and the proportion of
the population that are responders, as well as to evaluate whether the placebo
analgesic response of female subjects may differ from that of male subjects.
METHODS: We performed a meta-analysis of 596 subjects included in the placebo
treatment arm of 16 double-blind, post-third molar extraction dental pain
(moderate to severe) studies submitted to the Food and Drug Administration
electronically. The inclusion and exclusion criteria were practically identical
in all studies. Pain relief and pain intensity measurements used the same
metrics in all studies. The measurements were recorded just before drug
administration and at least at postdose hours 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6.
RESULTS: There were 325 female subjects and 271 male subjects. They were all
otherwise healthy, with a mean age of 21.6 years for female subjects and 22.3
years for male subjects. The postoperative baseline pain was greater in female
subjects than in male subjects, and this difference was statistically
significant. Both pain intensity and pain relief scores demonstrate the
well-established placebo effect in 10% of the pooled subjects, as well as in all
the individual studies. Over time, however, the mean pain intensity and pain
relief scores for the female and male treatment groups were not noticeably
different at any time point after medication. Further analysis of the data
showed no gender difference in duration of action of the placebo. CONCLUSIONS:
The results demonstrated no gender difference in response to placebo. These
results were obtained from the post-third molar extraction situation, in which
the least possible confounding factors were present. To fully establish the
generality of this phenomenon, studies should be carried out in other pain
models.



'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`''`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`
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Before submitting an article, please read the guidelines which are posted
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[Danny]

Post by James Michael Howard
Clin Pharmacol Ther. 2001 Sep;70(3):287-91.
Gender and the placebo analgesic effect in acute pain.
Averbuch M, Katzper M.
Division of Analgesic, Anti-inflammatory and Ophthalmic Drug Products, Center
for Drug Evaluation and Research, Food and Drug Administration, Rockville, MD
20857, USA.
OBJECTIVE: Our objective was to examine the placebo arms from a series of
clinical trials in which the post-third molar extraction dental pain model was
used to elucidate the time course of the placebo effect and the proportion of
the population that are responders, as well as to evaluate whether the placebo
analgesic response of female subjects may differ from that of male subjects.
METHODS: We performed a meta-analysis of 596 subjects included in the placebo
treatment arm of 16 double-blind, post-third molar extraction dental pain
(moderate to severe) studies submitted to the Food and Drug Administration
electronically. The inclusion and exclusion criteria were practically identical
in all studies. Pain relief and pain intensity measurements used the same
metrics in all studies. The measurements were recorded just before drug
administration and at least at postdose hours 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6.
RESULTS: There were 325 female subjects and 271 male subjects. They were all
otherwise healthy, with a mean age of 21.6 years for female subjects and 22.3
years for male subjects. The postoperative baseline pain was greater in female
subjects than in male subjects, and this difference was statistically
significant. Both pain intensity and pain relief scores demonstrate the
well-established placebo effect in 10% of the pooled subjects, as well as in all
the individual studies. Over time, however, the mean pain intensity and pain
relief scores for the female and male treatment groups were not noticeably
different at any time point after medication. Further analysis of the data
The results demonstrated no gender difference in response to placebo. These
results were obtained from the post-third molar extraction situation, in which
the least possible confounding factors were present. To fully establish the
generality of this phenomenon, studies should be carried out in other pain
models.

As expected.
"Nope - it's exactly the same between men and women if they're both told it
will work or are recommended it by their doc."



'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`''`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`
sci.psychology.research is a moderated newsgroup.
Before submitting an article, please read the guidelines which are posted
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[sam ende]

James Michael Howard wrote:

a lot re placebo effect.
are some people more prone to placebo effects than others, if that makes
any sense ?

sammi



'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`''`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`
sci.psychology.research is a moderated newsgroup.
Before submitting an article, please read the guidelines which are posted
here bimonthly or the charter on the web at http://psychcentral.com/spr/
Submissions are acknowledged automatically.