Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38041063›Full record

SynthesisBMC complementary medicine and therapies2023

The effects of art therapy on quality of life and psychosomatic symptoms in adults with cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

ShiShuang Zhou, MeiHong Yu, Zhan Zhou, LiWen Wang, WeiWei Liu, Qin Dai

Open access · goldAbstract readMeta-AnalysisSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in BMC complementary medicine and therapies, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
8citing papers in PubMed, 4 pooled it
17.5field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

8 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 17 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
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  4. Pooled it
  5. Review
  6. Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

ShiShuang ZhouSchool of Nursing, Army Medical University, Chongqing, 400038, China.
MeiHong YuDepartment of Gastroenterology, The Second Xiangya Hospital, Changsha, Hunan, China.
Zhan ZhouDepartments of Neonatology, People's Hospital (ZhuHai Clinical Medical College of Jinan University), Zhuhai, China.
LiWen WangDepartments of Neonatology, People's Hospital (ZhuHai Clinical Medical College of Jinan University), Zhuhai, China.
WeiWei LiuSchool of Nursing, Army Medical University, Chongqing, 400038, China. vivien_liu0429@126.com.
Qin DaiDepartment of Medical Psychology, Army Medical University, Chongqing, 400038, China. daiqin101@hotmail.com.
Army Medical University · CNJinan University · CNCentral South University · CN

Funding

the Key Project of the Natural Science Foundation of Chongqing cstc2020jcyj-zdxmX0009The preparation of this article was supported by the Key Project and Innovation Project of the People's Liberation Army of China 2021HL003
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundCancer-related psychological and physical disorders can mean stressful and painful experiences for patients. Art therapy, a form of complementary and alternative medicine, is an increasingly popular way to decrease emotional stress, alleviate somatic symptoms, and improve quality of life in patients with cancer. However, current systematic reviews have not explored the beneficial effects of art therapy. Moreover, there have been inconsistent findings on the effect of this therapy, and there is insufficient evidence to confirm the effects in adults with cancer. The objective of this study was to determine the efficacy of art therapy in improving quality of life and psychosomatic symptoms in adults with cancer.

methodsThis systematic review and meta-analysis included adults with all kinds of cancer. Six English-language and three large Chinese-language databases were comprehensively searched for relevant studies. Gray literature and references were also checked. The quality of the included studies was evaluated using the Cochrane risk-of-bias assessment tool.

resultsEight eligible randomized controlled trials conducted in four countries were included. Art therapy improved overall quality of life, but had no significant effect on psychological health or physical health sub-dimensions in women with cancer. Moreover, art therapy alleviated anxiety and depression, but had only a tendency toward an effect on somatic symptoms.

conclusionsModerate-quality evidence shows that art therapy is beneficial for women with cancer in terms of improving the overall quality of life and alleviating emotional symptoms (anxiety and depression). However, more high-quality randomized controlled trials are needed to determine the efficacy of this therapy on somatic symptoms.

Indexed as

Art TherapyMedically Unexplained SymptomsNeoplasmsAdultAnxietyFemaleHumansQuality of LifeAdults with cancerArt therapyEmotional symptomQuality of lifeSomatic symptom

Identifiers

PMID38041063
PMCPMC10691094
OpenAlexW4389225120

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.