Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40084050›Full record

SynthesisFrontiers in psychiatry2025

Effectiveness of virtual reality therapy in the treatment of anxiety disorders in adolescents and adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Weisi Zeng, Jialan Xu, Jiayan Yu, Xin Chu

Abstract readSystematic Review
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Frontiers in psychiatry, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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

6 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
  2. Article
  3. Review
  4. Article
  5. Review
  6. Article
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

4 authors.

Weisi ZengSchool of Nursing, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
Jialan XuSchool of Nursing, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
Jiayan YuSchool of Nursing, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
Xin ChuHospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: To evaluate the effect of virtual reality therapy on anxiety disorders in adolescents and adults by Meta-analysis. Methods: A comprehensive literature search was conducted by PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, CINAHL, Scopus, Cochrane (from inception to November 2024). Two researchers independently performed literature screening, quality evaluation and data extraction, and Stata16.0 and Review Man 5.4 software were used for Meta-analysis. Results: A total of 33 studies involving 3182 adolescents and adults with anxiety disorders were included. The results of Meta-analysis showed that compared with conventional interventions, virtual reality therapy significantly improved the symptoms and level of anxiety in patients with anxiety disorder [SMD = -0.95, 95%CI (-1.22,-0.69), Z = 7.05, P < 0.00001]. Conclusion: The current findings suggest that VR therapy interventions have a positive effect on improving the anxiety state of patients with anxiety disorders. The aforementioned research findings must be confirmed by more high-caliber studies due to the number and quality limitations of the contained literature. Systematic review registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display, identifier CRD42024574772.

Indexed as

adolescentadultanxietyanxiety disordervirtual reality exposure therapyvirtual reality therapy

Identifiers

PMID40084050
PMCPMC11904249

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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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.