Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40664183›Full record

Trial reportPsychotherapy and psychosomatics2026

The Effects of Digital Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia in Chronic Pain: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Jennifer Schuffelen, Leonie F Maurer, Annika Gieselmann

Abstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in Psychotherapy and psychosomatics, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
–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

3 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. 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

3 authors.

Jennifer SchuffelenDepartment of Clinical Psychology, Institute of Experimental Psychology, Heinrich Heine University, Düsseldorf, Germany, jennifer.schuffelen@hhu.de.
Leonie F Maurermementor DE GmbH, Leipzig, Germany.
Annika GieselmannDepartment of Clinical Psychology, Institute of Experimental Psychology, Heinrich Heine University, Düsseldorf, Germany.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

<p>Introduction: Managing chronic pain is a significant healthcare challenge that requires a multimodal treatment approach. In particular, the frequent presence of comorbid insomnia symptoms and its complex bidirectional relationship with pain provides a challenge to adequate treatment. This study was set up to test whether the addition of digital cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (dCBT-I) to the regular treatment of chronic pain can improve symptoms in a population comorbid chronic pain and insomnia, when compared to a waitlist control (WLC) condition.

methodsParticipants meeting criteria for chronic pain and insomnia were randomized (1:1) to either dCBT-I or WLC. Assessments took place at baseline, 8 and 24 weeks post-randomization. The primary outcome was insomnia severity (Insomnia Severity Index [ISI]). Secondary outcomes included sleep- and pain-related symptoms as well as measures of well-being and dreams. Linear mixed models were calculated to determine between-group differences.

resultsA total of 207 participants (182 women, mean age = 51.96 ± 12.97 years) were randomized to dCBT-I (n = 103) or WLC (n = 104). The dCBT-I group showed large improvements in the severity of insomnia compared to the WLC both after 8 (-4.36, p < 0.001; d = -1.18) and 24 weeks (-4.88, p < 0.001; d = -1.32). Pain-related impairments and life control also improved, favoring dCBT-I (ds = 0.22-0.35). Moderate-to-large treatment effects were also observed for secondary outcomes, including daytime sleepiness, fatigue, and dysfunctional beliefs and attitudes about sleep (ds = 0.47-1.12).

conclusionThis study confirmed the effects of dCBT-I in reducing the severity of insomnia in individuals with chronic pain and insomnia. Improvements in symptoms of chronic pain further emphasize the potential of dCBT-I as a scalable, evidence-based intervention to address the complex challenges of dual pathology in clinical practice, and it presents a promising extension of multimodal pain management. </p>.

Indexed as

Chronic PainCognitive Behavioral TherapySleep Initiation and Maintenance DisordersAdultFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedSeverity of Illness IndexTreatment OutcomeChronic painClinical researchCognitive-behavioral psychotherapyDigital cognitive behavioral therapy for insomniaInsomniaInternet-based treatmentPsychotherapy researchRandomized controlled trialSleepSleep disorder

Identifiers

PMID40664183
PMCPMC12503573

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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.