AUTHOR=Nestoriuc Yvonne , Pan Yiqi , Kinitz Timm , Weik Ella , Shedden-Mora Meike C. 

TITLE=Informing About the Nocebo Effect Affects Patients’ Need for Information About Antidepressants—An Experimental Online Study

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychiatry

VOLUME=12

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychiatry/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2021.587122

DOI=10.3389/fpsyt.2021.587122

ISSN=1664-0640

ABSTRACT=<p><bold>Relevance:</bold> Understanding patients’ informational needs and adapting drug-related information are the prerequisites for a contextualized informed consent. Current information practices might rather harm by inducing nocebo effects.</p><p><bold>Objective:</bold> To investigate whether informing about the nocebo effect using a short information sheet affects patients’ need for information about antidepressants.</p><p><bold>Methods:</bold> A total of 97 patients taking recently prescribed antidepressants (≤4 months intake) were recruited over the internet and randomized to receiving either a one-page written information about the nocebo effect or a control text about the history of antidepressants. After experimental manipulation, informational needs about the side effects and mechanisms of antidepressants were assessed with 3 and 7 items on categorical and 5-point Likert scales. Group differences in informational needs were calculated with Chi-square tests and ANOVAs.</p><p><bold>Results:</bold> Patients received antidepressants for depression (84.5%) and/or anxiety disorders (42.3%). Three participants (6.0%) of the nocebo group reported previous knowledge of the nocebo effect. After the experimental manipulation, participants in the nocebo group reported a reduced desire for receiving full side effect information [<inline-formula><mml:math id="M1" xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mml:msubsup><mml:mrow><mml:mi>X</mml:mi></mml:mrow><mml:mrow><mml:mrow><mml:mo stretchy="false">(</mml:mo><mml:mrow><mml:mn>4</mml:mn><mml:mo>,</mml:mo><mml:mn>97</mml:mn></mml:mrow><mml:mo stretchy="false">)</mml:mo></mml:mrow></mml:mrow><mml:mrow><mml:mn>2</mml:mn></mml:mrow></mml:msubsup></mml:math></inline-formula> = 12.714, Cramer’s V = 0.362, <italic>p</italic> = 0.013] and agreed more frequently to the usefulness of withholding information about possible side effects [<inline-formula><mml:math id="M2" xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mml:msubsup><mml:mrow><mml:mi>X</mml:mi></mml:mrow><mml:mrow><mml:mrow><mml:mo stretchy="false">(</mml:mo><mml:mrow><mml:mn>4</mml:mn><mml:mo>,</mml:mo><mml:mn>97</mml:mn></mml:mrow><mml:mo stretchy="false">)</mml:mo></mml:mrow></mml:mrow><mml:mrow><mml:mn>2</mml:mn></mml:mrow></mml:msubsup></mml:math></inline-formula> = 14.878, Cramer’s V = 0.392, <italic>p</italic> = 0.005]. Furthermore, they desired more information about the mechanisms of antidepressants (<italic>F</italic> = 6.373, <italic>p</italic> = 0.013, partial η<sup>2</sup> = 0.063) and, specifically, non-pharmacological mechanisms, such as the role of positive expectations (<italic>F</italic> = 16.857, <italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.001, partial η<sup>2</sup> = 0.151).</p><p><bold>Conclusions:</bold> Learning about the nocebo effect can alter patients’ informational needs toward desiring less information about the potential side effects of antidepressants and more information about general mechanisms, such as expectations. The beneficial effects of including nocebo information into contextualized informed consent should be studied clinically concerning more functional information-seeking behavior, which may ultimately lead to improved treatment outcomes, such as better adherence and reduced side effect burden.</p>