SynthesisBritish journal of health psychology2023
What psychological interventions are effective for the management of persistent physical symptoms (PPS)? A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in British journal of health psychology, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 19 citations in OpenAlex.
- Clinical skills development for healthcare practitioners working with patients with persistent physical symptoms (PPS) in healthcare settings: a systematic review and narrative synthesis.BMC medical education · 2024Pooled it
- What psychological interventions are effective for the management of persistent physical symptoms (PPS)? A systematic review and meta-analysis.British journal of health psychology · 2023Pooled it
- Effect of a digital intervention on mental health symptoms in adults with chronic conditions: A three-arm randomized controlled trial.PLoS medicine · 2026Trial
- Cognitive behavioral therapy, exercise training, and cognitive remediation for patients with post-COVID-19 condition: protocol of an open-label randomized controlled trial.BMC psychology · 2025Trial
- Effect of internet-delivered exposure therapy versus healthy lifestyle promotion for patients with persistent physical symptoms (SOMEX1): a randomized controlled trial with planned moderator analysis.Psychological medicine · 2025Trial
- Article
- Alexithymia mediates the pathway from negative life events to somatic symptoms: a cross-sectional study in a psychosomatic outpatient sample.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Article
- The overlooked burden of persistent physical symptoms: a call for action in European healthcare.The Lancet regional health. Europe · 2025Review
- Efficacy of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Acceptance- and Mindfulness-Based Treatments in Adults with Bodily Distress: A Network Meta-Analysis.Psychotherapy and psychosomatics · 2025Article
- The role of sensory attenuation in symptomatic and healthy individuals: a scoping review.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2025Review
- A prospective non-randomized controlled trial testing the effectiveness of psychotherapeutic inpatient treatment of Post-COVID-19 syndrome - study protocol.BMC psychology · 2024Article
- Neuroplasticity Intervention, Amygdala and Insula Retraining (AIR), Significantly Improves Overall Health and Functioning Across Various Chronic Conditions.Integrative medicine (Encinitas, Calif.) · 2023Article
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 at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesPresentation of persistent physical symptoms is associated with increased health care utilization, yet clinical outcomes often remain suboptimal. This systematic review aimed to determine whether psychological interventions are effective for the management of PPS and if so, what are the features of the interventions and at what level of care are they delivered. The review also set out to establish which symptoms in those diagnosed with PPS can be effectively managed with psychological intervention.
methodsStudies were included if they clearly reported a psychological intervention, specified the study sample as adults with a diagnosis of persistent physical symptoms, included a comparator and as a minimum an outcome measure of somatic symptoms. Risk of bias was assessed using the EPHPP. Meta-analysis was conducted to estimate the overall effect of interventions on somatic symptoms (the primary outcome), anxiety and depression (secondary outcomes).
resultsSeventeen papers of varying quality indicated that psychological interventions can be effective for the management of somatic symptoms reported by individuals with PPS within a primary care setting. Psychological interventions were also found to be effective at reducing depression symptoms in individuals with PPS in twelve of the included studies. However, the meta-analysis results suggest that the psychological interventions utilized within eleven of the included studies did not significantly impact anxiety symptoms.
conclusionsPsychological interventions have some success in managing somatic symptoms in PPS patients within primary care settings although their effects on other psychological symptoms is more mixed. The review highlights the importance of establishing a clearer diagnostic classification to inform treatment trajectories and the need for appropriate training and support within a multi-disciplinary team to enable the provision of such therapies.
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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.