Dr. Rhonda Patrick on health: what the evidence says · JRE #901
SUBJECT: HEALTH
Not a true/false call. Every claim is logged with its sources; read the exhibits below.
I just told you only 40% of people are responding to these antidepressants that are standard of care
What the evidence says 01 / RECORD
Patrick states that roughly 40% of patients respond to standard antidepressants versus about 30% on placebo. Published analyses of FDA-trial data support figures in this range: a 2015 World Psychiatry review of antidepressant efficacy found that the magnitude of symptom reduction across FDA trials was about 40% with antidepressants and about 30% with placebo, and separately noted that the NIMH-funded STAR*D study found citalopram produced a therapeutic response in only about 4 of 10 depressed outpatients. The NIMH's own summary of STAR*D reports that at the first treatment level, about one-third of participants achieved remission and another 10-15% responded without remission, consistent with an overall response rate in roughly the 40-48% range. Exact figures vary depending on the specific trial, drug, symptom scale, and whether response or remission is measured, but Patrick's 40%-versus-30% framing falls within the range reported in this peer-reviewed literature on antidepressant and placebo response rates. The claim is a reasonably accurate, if simplified, paraphrase of published data rather than a misstatement.