SynthesisPloS one2018
Cost-effectiveness of interventions for medically unexplained symptoms: A systematic review.
Synthesis in PloS one, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT06582173 (Mapping the Healthcare Pathway to Specialised Multidisciplinary Assessment of 12-25 Year Olds With Somatic Symptom Disorder), which is not on this map. Cited by 15 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Mapping the Healthcare Pathway to Specialised Multidisciplinary Assessment of 12-25 Year Olds With Somatic Symptom Disorder: a Monocentric Descriptive Study Based on Interviews Assisted by a Biographical Grid
Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Recent research in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome: an evidence map.Health technology assessment (Winchester, England) · 2025Pooled it
- Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) treatment in the medical setting: a systematic review.European journal of psychotraumatology · 2024Pooled it
- Who benefits from multidisciplinary care in functional somatic disorders? Identifying cost-effective patient selection through diagnostic classification groups.Israel journal of health policy research · 2026Article
- Symptom burden in middle-aged women, the role of immigrant status.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Article
- Characteristics and predictors of persistent somatic symptoms in patients with cardiac disease.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- The "Difficult" Inpatient, a Qualitative Study of Physician Perspectives.Journal of general internal medicine · 2024Article
- Integrated care model for patients with functional somatic symptom disorder - a co-produced stakeholder exploration with recommendations for best practice.BMC health services research · 2024Article
- Functional somatic syndromes are associated with inferior outcomes and increased complications after hip and knee arthroplasty: a systematic review.Arthroplasty (London, England) · 2024Article
- Neurocognitive screening in patients following SARS-CoV-2 infection: tools for triage.BMC neurology · 2022Article
- Neurocognitive Screening in Patients Following SARS-CoV-2 Infection: Tools for Triage.Research square · 2022Article
- Article
- A Randomized Controlled Trial Evaluating Integrative Psychotherapeutic Group Treatment Compared to Self-Help Groups in Functional Vertigo/Dizziness.Journal of clinical medicine · 2021Article
- Analysis of General Practitioners' Attitudes and Beliefs about Psychological Intervention and the Medicine-Psychology Relationship in Primary Care: Toward a New Comprehensive Approach to Primary Health Care.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Article
- Health Care Use and Costs of Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults With Somatic Symptom and Related Disorders.JAMA network open · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundIn primary and secondary care medically unexplained symptoms (MUS) or functional somatic syndromes (FSS) constitute a major burden for patients and society with high healthcare costs and societal costs. Objectives were to provide an overview of the evidence regarding the cost-effectiveness of interventions for MUS or FSS, and to assess the quality of these studies.
methodsWe searched the databases PubMed, PsycINFO, the National Health Service Economic Evaluation Database (NHS-EED) and the CEA registry to conduct a systematic review. Articles with full economic evaluations on interventions focusing on adult patients with undifferentiated MUS or fibromyalgia (FM), irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), with no restrictions on comparators, published until 15 June 2018, were included. We excluded preventive interventions. Two reviewers independently extracted study characteristics and cost-effectiveness data and used the Consensus on Health Economic Criteria Checklist to appraise the methodological quality.
resultsA total of 39 studies out of 1,613 articles met the inclusion criteria. Twenty-two studies reported costs per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) gained and cost-utility analyses (CUAs). In 13 CUAs the intervention conditions dominated the control conditions or had an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio below the willingness-to-pay threshold of € 50,000 per QALY, meaning that the interventions were (on average) cost-effective in comparison with the control condition. Group interventions focusing on MUS (n = 3) or FM (n = 4) might be more cost-effective than individual interventions. The included studies were heterogeneous with regard to the included patients, interventions, study design, and outcomes.
conclusionThis review provides an overview of 39 included studies of interventions for patients with MUS and FSS and the methodological quality of these studies. Considering the limited comparability due to the heterogeneity of the studies, group interventions might be more cost-effective than individual interventions. REGISTRATION: Study methods were documented in an international prospective register of systematic reviews (PROSPERO) protocol, registration number: CRD42017060424.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.