IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/plo/pone00/0098118.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Internet-Delivered Psychological Treatments for Mood and Anxiety Disorders: A Systematic Review of Their Efficacy, Safety, and Cost-Effectiveness

Author

Listed:
  • Filip K Arnberg
  • Steven J Linton
  • Monica Hultcrantz
  • Emelie Heintz
  • Ulf Jonsson

Abstract

Background: Greater access to evidence-based psychological treatments is needed. This review aimed to evaluate whether internet-delivered psychological treatments for mood and anxiety disorders are efficacious, noninferior to established treatments, safe, and cost-effective for children, adolescents and adults. Methods: We searched the literature for studies published until March 2013. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were considered for the assessment of short-term efficacy and safety and were pooled in meta-analyses. Other designs were also considered for long-term effect and cost-effectiveness. Comparisons against established treatments were evaluated for noninferiority. Two reviewers independently assessed the relevant studies for risk of bias. The quality of the evidence was graded using an international grading system. Results: A total of 52 relevant RCTs were identified whereof 12 were excluded due to high risk of bias. Five cost-effectiveness studies were identified and three were excluded due to high risk of bias. The included trials mainly evaluated internet-delivered cognitive behavioral therapy (I-CBT) against a waiting list in adult volunteers and 88% were conducted in Sweden or Australia. One trial involved children. For adults, the quality of evidence was graded as moderate for the short-term efficacy of I-CBT vs. waiting list for mild/moderate depression (d = 0.83; 95% CI 0.59, 1.07) and social phobia (d = 0.85; 95% CI 0.66, 1.05), and moderate for no efficacy of internet-delivered attention bias modification vs. sham treatment for social phobia (d = −0.04; 95% CI −0.24, 0.35). The quality of evidence was graded as low/very low for other disorders, interventions, children/adolescents, noninferiority, adverse events, and cost-effectiveness. Conclusions: I-CBT is a viable treatment option for adults with depression and some anxiety disorders who request this treatment modality. Important questions remain before broad implementation can be supported. Future research would benefit from prioritizing adapting treatments to children/adolescents and using noninferiority designs with established forms of treatment.

Suggested Citation

  • Filip K Arnberg & Steven J Linton & Monica Hultcrantz & Emelie Heintz & Ulf Jonsson, 2014. "Internet-Delivered Psychological Treatments for Mood and Anxiety Disorders: A Systematic Review of Their Efficacy, Safety, and Cost-Effectiveness," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 9(5), pages 1-13, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0098118
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0098118
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0098118
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0098118&type=printable
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1371/journal.pone.0098118?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Luke Johnston & Nickolai Titov & Gavin Andrews & Jay Spence & Blake F Dear, 2011. "A RCT of a Transdiagnostic Internet-Delivered Treatment for Three Anxiety Disorders: Examination of Support Roles and Disorder-Specific Outcomes," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 6(11), pages 1-13, November.
    2. Sue Duval & Richard Tweedie, 2000. "Trim and Fill: A Simple Funnel-Plot–Based Method of Testing and Adjusting for Publication Bias in Meta-Analysis," Biometrics, The International Biometric Society, vol. 56(2), pages 455-463, June.
    3. Nickolai Titov & Gavin Andrews & Matthew Davies & Karen McIntyre & Emma Robinson & Karen Solley, 2010. "Internet Treatment for Depression: A Randomized Controlled Trial Comparing Clinician vs. Technician Assistance," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 5(6), pages 1-9, June.
    4. Emma Robinson & Nickolai Titov & Gavin Andrews & Karen McIntyre & Genevieve Schwencke & Karen Solley, 2010. "Internet Treatment for Generalized Anxiety Disorder: A Randomized Controlled Trial Comparing Clinician vs. Technician Assistance," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 5(6), pages 1-9, June.
    5. Gavin Andrews & Pim Cuijpers & Michelle G Craske & Peter McEvoy & Nickolai Titov, 2010. "Computer Therapy for the Anxiety and Depressive Disorders Is Effective, Acceptable and Practical Health Care: A Meta-Analysis," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 5(10), pages 1-6, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Fabian Lenhard & Sarah Vigerland & Hedvig Engberg & Anna Hallberg & Hanna Thermaenius & Eva Serlachius, 2016. "“On My Own, but Not Alone” - Adolescents’ Experiences of Internet-Delivered Cognitive Behavior Therapy for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(10), pages 1-14, October.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Gerhard Andersson & Per Carlbring & Tomas Furmark & on behalf of the S. O. F. I. E. Research Group, 2012. "Therapist Experience and Knowledge Acquisition in Internet-Delivered CBT for Social Anxiety Disorder: A Randomized Controlled Trial," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 7(5), pages 1-10, May.
    2. Nickolai Titov & Blake F Dear & Luke Johnston & Carolyn Lorian & Judy Zou & Bethany Wootton & Jay Spence & Peter M McEvoy & Ronald M Rapee, 2013. "Improving Adherence and Clinical Outcomes in Self-Guided Internet Treatment for Anxiety and Depression: Randomised Controlled Trial," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 8(7), pages 1-11, July.
    3. David Daniel Ebert & Anna-Carlotta Zarski & Helen Christensen & Yvonne Stikkelbroek & Pim Cuijpers & Matthias Berking & Heleen Riper, 2015. "Internet and Computer-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Anxiety and Depression in Youth: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Outcome Trials," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(3), pages 1-15, March.
    4. Elizabeth Stratton & Amit Lampit & Isabella Choi & Rafael A Calvo & Samuel B Harvey & Nicholas Glozier, 2017. "Effectiveness of eHealth interventions for reducing mental health conditions in employees: A systematic review and meta-analysis," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(12), pages 1-23, December.
    5. Ioana A Cristea & Claudio Gentili & Pietro Pietrini & Pim Cuijpers, 2017. "Is investigator background related to outcome in head to head trials of psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy for adult depression? A systematic review and meta-analysis," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(2), pages 1-18, February.
    6. Qian Li & Yan Chen & Shikun Sun & Muyuan Zhu & Jing Xue & Zihan Gao & Jinfeng Zhao & Yihe Tang, 2022. "Research on Crop Irrigation Schedules Under Deficit Irrigation—A Meta-analysis," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 36(12), pages 4799-4817, September.
    7. Bart Verkuil & Serpil Atasayi & Marc L Molendijk, 2015. "Workplace Bullying and Mental Health: A Meta-Analysis on Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Data," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(8), pages 1-16, August.
    8. Damiano Pizzol & Mike Trott & Igor Grabovac & Mario Antunes & Anna Claudia Colangelo & Simona Ippoliti & Cristian Petre Ilie & Anne Carrie & Nicola Veronese & Lee Smith, 2021. "Laparoscopy in Low-Income Countries: 10-Year Experience and Systematic Literature Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(11), pages 1-11, May.
    9. Wolfgang Goymann & John C. Wingfield, 2014. "Male-to-female testosterone ratios, dimorphism, and life history—what does it really tell us?," Behavioral Ecology, International Society for Behavioral Ecology, vol. 25(4), pages 685-699.
    10. Alderotti, Giammarco & Rapallini, Chiara & Traverso, Silvio, 2023. "The Big Five personality traits and earnings: A meta-analysis," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    11. Ünal, Zehra E. & Kartal, Gamze & Ulusoy, Serra & Ala, Aslı M. & Yilmaz, Munube & Geary, David C., 2023. "Relative contributions of g and basic domain-specific mathematics skills to complex mathematics competencies," Intelligence, Elsevier, vol. 101(C).
    12. Daniele Zago & Maria Eugênia Andrighetto Canozzi & Júlio Otávio Jardim Barcellos, 2020. "Pregnant beef cow’s nutrition and its effects on postnatal weight and carcass quality of their progeny," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(8), pages 1-20, August.
    13. Viktoria Maria Baumeister & Leonie Petra Kuen & Maike Bruckes & Gerhard Schewe, 2021. "The Relationship of Work-Related ICT Use With Well-being, Incorporating the Role of Resources and Demands: A Meta-Analysis," SAGE Open, , vol. 11(4), pages 21582440211, November.
    14. Gundula Krack, 2019. "How to make value-based health insurance designs more effective? A systematic review and meta-analysis," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 20(6), pages 841-856, August.
    15. Angélica Pigola & Priscila Rezende Costa, 2022. "In search of understanding about knowledge and learning on innovation performance," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 127(7), pages 3995-4022, July.
    16. Christopher Snyder & Ran Zhuo, 2018. "Sniff Tests as a Screen in the Publication Process: Throwing out the Wheat with the Chaff," NBER Working Papers 25058, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    17. Chuang Yuan & Jing Wang & Michael Ying, 2016. "Predictive Value of Carotid Distensibility Coefficient for Cardiovascular Diseases and All-Cause Mortality: A Meta-Analysis," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(4), pages 1-15, April.
    18. Francisco Javier Blanco-Encomienda & Rocío García-Cantero & María José Latorre-Medina, 2020. "Association between Work-Related Rumination, Work Environment and Employee Well-Being: A Meta-Analytic Study of Main and Moderator Effects," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 150(3), pages 887-910, August.
    19. Pedro L. Cosio & Manuel Crespo-Posadas & Álvaro Velarde-Sotres & Mireia Pelaez, 2021. "Effect of Chronic Resistance Training on Circulating Irisin: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(5), pages 1-16, March.
    20. Molo, Fabio & Pawel, Samuel & Fraga González, Gorka, 2024. "A Robustness Reproduction of "A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of 90 Cohort Studies of Social Isolation, Loneliness and Mortality"," I4R Discussion Paper Series 169, The Institute for Replication (I4R).

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0098118. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: plosone (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.