The STAR*D Trial: Scientifically Flawed or Scientific Fraud?

The authors of the famous sequenced treatment alternatives to relieve depression trial or STAR*D reported that about two-thirds or 67% of patients had achieved remission after 4 trials of antidepressant medication.   This remission rate has been questioned over the years and in October of 2023, the journal BMJ Open published an article that reports to have reanalyzed the date from STAR*D using the original study design.  This re-analysis found much much lower rates of remission.  It reported the cumulative remission rate as only 35 percent.  How do two different sets of researchers using the same data set get a result that is just half of what the other researchers reported?  That is the mystery that I report on today.Please leave feedback at https://www.psydactic.com or send any comments to [email protected] and readings (when available) are posted at the end of each episode transcript, located at psydactic.buzzsprout.com.  All opinions expressed in this podcast are exclusively those of the person speaking and should not be confused with the opinions of anyone else.  We reserve the right to be wrong.  Nothing in this podcast should be treated as individual medical advice.