Placebo adherence alone doubles heart attack survival odds

Evidence

Now consider that those who failed to take 80% of the placebos were dead 28% of the time, whereas those who strictly adhered to taking their placebos were dead only 15% of the time. So the chemicals in the drug didn’t do anything, but it might appear that they did since staying on the medication improves survival. Both believing a medicine will work and being able to stick to a treatment regime doubles one’s chances of survival after a heart attack, even if the treatment is chemically inert. … Self-regulation, which can improved through religious rituals, can extend your life. — Joseph Henrich, The Secret of Our Success, 901

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Observing another’s pain response changes observers’ own physiology — Joseph Henrich, The Secret of Our Success: How Culture…, 904