Are the Effects of Homeopathy Attributable to a Statistical Artefact? A Reanalysis of an Observational Study

Table 1

Baseline values and changes after 12 months of SF-36 summary scores (mean ± standard deviation).

Disease (ICD-9)	𝑁	Mental component MCS			Physical component PCS
		Baseline	Change	Standardised change*	Baseline	Change	Standardised change*
All	2827	39.2±13.4	5.6±11.8	0.42±0.88	46.9±14.0	3.2±9.3	0.23±0.66
Headache (346.9 or 784.0)	228	38.8±13.3	5.6±11.7	0.42±0.88	45.8±13.3	3.8±9.9	0.29±0.74
Allergic rhinitis (477.9)	227	41.6±14.0	6.3±11.0	0.45±0.79	49.7±13.6	3.9±10.0	0.29±0.74
Eczema (692.9)	211	41.6±13.7	6.1±11.9	0.45±0.87	52.0±12.7	2.7±9.0	0.21±0.71
Migraine (349.6)	210	41.1±13.1	5.1±11.9	0.39±0.91	45.3±12.1	4.8±10.3	0.40±0.85
Sleep disturbances (780.5)	204	32.6±11.6	6.4±12.7	0.55±1.09	44.0±13.1	1.7±8.3	0.13±0.63
Allergy (995.3)	165	41.1±13.5	6.0±12.5	0.44±0.93	50.6±13.9	2.7±8.8	0.19±0.63
Depression (311.0)	164	29.2±10.5	9.6±13.3	0.91±1.27	46.6±13.9	2.5±10.6	0.18±0.76
Recurrent infections (796.9)	153	39.9±13.1	7.7±11.8	0.59±0.90	47.8±12.0	6.1±9.2	0.51±0.77
Atopic eczema (691.8)	145	39.9±13.0	6.0±12.1	0.46±0.93	51.4±12.5	2.1±9.4	0.17±0.75
Anxiety disorder (300.0)	142	34.4±12.1	9.9±13.2	0.82±1.09	49.9±13.2	2.9±9.3	0.22±0.70
Hypertension (401.9)	137	35.4±13.3	3.3±9.8	0.25±0.74	38.0±14.1	3.7±8.4	0.26±0.60
Recurrent sinusitis (473.9)	130	38.0±10.6	5.9±12.5	0.56±1.18	46.7±12.8	3.9±10.3	0.30±0.80
Dysmenorrhea (625.3)	128	38.8±13.4	6.2±12.6	0.46±0.94	49.5±12.8	2.6±8.9	0.20±0.70
Low back pain (724.2)	128	39.8±12.2	5.3±10.7	0.43±0.88	43.3±14.5	3.2±9.3	0.22±0.64
Asthma (493.9)	118	41.2±14.0	5.8±10.7	0.41±0.76	47.8±13.3	3.8±7.5	0.29±0.56
Psoriasis (696.1)	81	40.5±13.6	3.7±12.8	0.27±0.94	47.4±15.2	4.8±9.6	0.32±0.63

∗Change divided by standard deviation at baseline.