What if STAR*D Had Been Placebo-Controlled? A Critical Reexamination of a Foundational Study in Depression Treatment

These findings raise questions about the evidence supporting widely used treatment strategies following an inadequate response to an initial antidepressant. They suggest that pragmatic trials should be interpreted cautiously in the absence of blinded placebo-controlled studies and point to the need for high-quality blinded clinical trials of second-step and third-step depression treatments.

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Publication Details

Journal
Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology
Published
2025-06-13
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1097/jcp.0000000000002025
Citations
1
Primary Topic
Treatment of Major Depression
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
1.39
Controls
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article

What if STAR*D Had Been Placebo-Controlled? A Critical Reexamination of a Foundational Study in Depression Treatment

Jonathan P. Heldt, Kevin P. Kennedy, David W. Oslin
1 citations
Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology
Treatment of Major Depression
1.39
article

What if STAR*D Had Been Placebo-Controlled? A Critical Reexamination of a Foundational Study in Depression Treatment

Jonathan P. Heldt, Kevin P. Kennedy, David W. Oslin
article en
1 citations

Abstract

These findings raise questions about the evidence supporting widely used treatment strategies following an inadequate response to an initial antidepressant. They suggest that pragmatic trials should be interpreted cautiously in the absence of blinded placebo-controlled studies and point to the need for high-quality blinded clinical trials of second-step and third-step depression treatments.

Journal of Clinical PsychopharmacologyVol. 45(6)
United States Department of Veterans Affairs (US), University of California, Los Angeles (US), Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Centers (US), Philadelphia VA Medical Center (US), VA Healthcare-VISN 4 (US), VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System (US), University of Pennsylvania (US)
Openalex Percentile: Top 19%
Treatment of Major Depression
1.39
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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What if STAR*D Had Been Placebo-Controlled? A Critical Reexamination of a Foundational Study in Depression Treatment — Jonathan P. Heldt, Kevin P. Kennedy, et al. · Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology (2025) | TGRS Research Map | TGRS