Cognitive Behaviour Therapy for Health Anxiety: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Issue 2 (23rd February 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Cooper, Kate; Gregory, James D.; Walker, Ian; Lambe, Sinead; Salkovskis, Paul M.
• Is Part Of: Behavioural and cognitive psychotherapy. Volume 45:Issue 2(2017)
• Page Start: 110
• Page End: 123
• Publication Date: 2017-02-23
• Subjects: Hypochondriasis, -- health anxiety, -- cognitive behavioural therapy, -- systematic review, -- meta-analysis; Behavior therapy -- Periodicals; 616.89142
• DOI: 10.1017/S1352465816000527
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1352-4658

Abstract

Abstract : Background: Health anxiety (HA), or hypochondriasis, is a psychological problem characterized by a preoccupation with the belief that one is physically unwell. A 2007 Cochrane review (Thomson and Page, 2007 ) found cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) to be an effective intervention for individuals with HA. Similar findings were reported in a recent meta-analysis (Olatunji et al., 2014 ), which did not employ a systematic search strategy. The current review aimed to investigate the efficacy of CBT for HA, and to update the existing reviews.Method: A systematic search was conducted following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidance, including randomized controlled trials that compared CBT with a control condition for people with HA. Five hundred and sixty-seven studies were found in the original search, of which 14 were included in the meta-analysis.Results: Meta-analysis was conducted on 21 comparisons and a large effect size for CBT compared with a control condition was found at post therapy d = 1.01 (95% confidence interval 0.77–1.25), as well as at 6- and 12-month follow-up.Conclusions: This systematic review and meta-analysis provides support for the hypothesis that CBT is an effective intervention for HA when compared with a variety of control conditions, e.g. treatment-as-usual, waiting list, medication, and other psychological therapies.