Study Finds Turmeric Extract Equal to Prozac for Serious Depression

[DeadLetterOffice]

67. Don't forget about the statistical power...

Last edited Sat Jan 18, 2014, 09:04 PM - Edit history (1)

You really can't draw any conclusions from a study this small with analysis power this low.

However, the biggest problem with the study is the lack of a no-treatment control group. The study seems to indicate that the three treatment groups (curcumin, Prozac, curcumin+ Prozac) had equivalent outcomes. But because there were no control groups (say, a placebo group, and a complete absence of treatment group) there's no way to say with any legitimacy that the results the study found had anything to do with either curcumin or Prozac. It could be that popping any random pill twice a day improves depression. Or being in a clinical study improves depression. Or some other un-accounted for thing. (Like, maybe, all the subjects being Indian and therefore likely getting curcumin through diet as well as through the study meds...) There's a reason why double-blind randomized clinical trials have control groups.

That said, it's an interesting pilot study. Hopefully the authors' suggestions for more rigorous evaluation with larger samples will be taken seriously.

Edited to add: It's not actually an NIH funded (or overseen) study. It was funded by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of Gujarat, India.