ReviewJMIR mental health2023
Adverse Effects of Virtual and Augmented Reality Interventions in Psychiatry: Systematic Review.
Review in JMIR mental health, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 3 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 40 papers, 3 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.
NST-SPARK: Preliminary Study of an Augmented Reality (AR) App Delivering Recovery-Oriented Cognitive Therapy for Negative Symptoms in Schizophrenia
Effect of Nature-Based Virtual Reality and Two-Dimensional Nature Videos on OSCE-Related Exam Stress in Nursing Students: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Use of Virtual Reality in Outpatient Management of Pediatric Chronic Pain of Head, Neck and Upper Extremity
Who cites it
40 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 81 citations in OpenAlex.
- Transforming Healthcare: A Comprehensive Review of Augmented and Virtual Reality Interventions.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Pooled it
- Effect of virtual reality-based upper limb training on activity of daily living and quality of life among stroke survivors: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitation · 2025Pooled it
- The Journey From Nonimmersive to Immersive Multiuser Applications in Mental Health Care: Systematic Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2024Pooled it
- Digital Psychiatry with Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality: Recent Advances and Limitations.Clinical psychopharmacology and neuroscience : the official scientific journal of the Korean College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2026Review
- Artificial Intelligence-Integrated Virtual Reality in Mental Health Care: A Scoping Review of Evidence, Clinical Applications, and Future Directions.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Review
- User Experience of Extended Reality Treatment for Visuospatial Neglect Among Patients and Informal Caregivers: Qualitative Interview Study.JMIR rehabilitation and assistive technologies · 2026Article
- Article
- Strategies to Increase Patients' Adherence to Digital Therapeutics for Musculoskeletal Diseases: A Narrative Review.Yonsei medical journal · 2026Review
- The Impact of Actigaming on Emotional Attentional Biases in College Students: An Exploratory Crossover Trial.Brain sciences · 2026Article
- From facing fears to experimental frontiers: immersive cinematic virtual reality environments as a catalyst for innovation in behavioral neuroscience.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Article
- Immersive metaverse art as a psychological intervention for depression and anxiety: a narrative review and multilevel model integrating engagement, cultural identity, and neurocognitive mechanisms.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Review
- Toward clinical integration of generative AI in mental health: personalization, multimodality and inter-entity experience.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Preliminary Findings From an Augmented Reality (AR) App Delivering Recovery-Oriented Cognitive Therapy for Negative Symptoms in Schizophrenia.Early intervention in psychiatry · 2026Article
- Unfinished business in virtual reality: Development and preliminary evaluation of an empty chair intervention grounded in emotion-focused therapy.Internet interventions · 2025Review
- Virtual Reality: Challenges and Perspectives in Mental Health.Alpha psychiatry · 2025Review
- Dropout Rate of Participants with Cancer in Randomized Clinical Trials That Use Virtual Reality to Manage Pain-A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis and Meta-Regression.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Burden of gaming disorder among adolescents: A systemic review and meta-analysis.Public health in practice (Oxford, England) · 2025Review
- Acceptability, Usability, and Insights Into Cybersickness Levels of a Novel Virtual Reality Environment for the Evaluation of Depressive Symptoms: Exploratory Observational Study.JMIR formative research · 2025Observational
- Leveraging virtual reality to improve medication adherence among marginalized populations with high-risk chronic health conditions: Proof-of-concept protocol, considerations, and next steps.Proceedings of the ... Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences. Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences · 2025Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundVirtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) are emerging treatment modalities in psychiatry, which are capable of producing clinical outcomes broadly comparable to those achieved with standard psychotherapies.
objectiveBecause the side effect profile associated with the clinical use of VR and AR remains largely unknown, we systematically reviewed available evidence of their adverse effects.
methodsA systematic review was conducted in accordance with the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) framework across 3 mental health databases (PubMed, PsycINFO, and Embase) to identify VR and AR interventions targeting mental health diagnoses.
resultsOf 73 studies meeting the inclusion criteria, 7 reported worsening clinical symptoms or an increased fall risk. Another 21 studies reported "no adverse effects" but failed to identify obvious adverse effects, mainly cybersickness, documented in their results. More concerningly, 45 of the 73 studies made no mention of adverse effects whatsoever.
conclusionsAn appropriate screening tool would help ensure that VR adverse effects are correctly identified and reported.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.