Assessing the risk of symptom worsening in psilocybin-assisted therapy for depression: A systematic review and individual participant data meta-analysis
Psychiatry Research – July 23, 2023
Source: OpenAlex
Summary
For individuals grappling with depression, a meta-analysis of 102 participants across three randomized controlled trials offers promising insights into psilocybin. Only about 10% experienced symptom worsening with this alkaloid, influencing neurotransmitter receptors, a rate mirroring the antidepressant escitalopram. This contrasts sharply with 63.6% in waitlist groups. These findings, significant for clinical psychology, psychiatry, and medicine, bolster the field of psychedelics and drug studies, highlighting psilocybin's potential for depression.
Abstract
We conducted a meta-analysis using individual participant data from three, two-dose psilocybin trials for depression (N = 102) with the aim of assessing the risk of symptom worsening. Clinically significant symptom worsening occurred for a minority of participants in the psilocybin and escitalopram conditions (∼10%) and for a majority of participants in the waitlist condition (63.6%). Using data from the two trials with control arms, the psilocybin arm showed a lower likelihood of symptom worsening versus waitlist, and no difference in the likelihood of symptom worsening versus escitalopram. The limitation of a relatively small sample size should be addressed in future studies.