Publication Bias

Guest: Craig Williams, Pharm.D., Clinical Professor and Pharmacotherapy Specialist at Oregon State University  Antidepressants are among the most commonly prescribed drugs in America, even though the scientific literature suggests they’re not as effective in treating depression as we tend to think. The reason for that disconnect has to do with something called “publication bias” and new analysis in the American Medical Association’s Psychiatry Journal shows it’s also leading doctors and patients to overestimate the effectiveness of anti-depressants for treating anxiety disorders.