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The evidence base for psychological interventions for rheumatoid arthritis: A systematic review of reviews
Open accessAbstract
BACKGROUND: Psychological interventions are an important but often overlooked adjunctive treatment option for patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Findings from systematic reviews of psychological interventions for this patient group are conflicting. A systematic review of reviews can explain inconsistencies between studies and provide a clearer understanding of the effects of interventions. OBJECTIVES: To: 1) determine the effectiveness of psychological interventions in improving biopsychosocial outcomes for adults with rheumatoid arthritis, 2) determine the relationship between the intensity of the psychological interventions (number of sessions, duration of sessions, duration of intervention) on outcomes, and 3) assess the impact of comparator group (usual care, education only) on outcomes. DESIGN: We conducted a systematic review of reviews using the following inclusion criteria: 1) randomised controlled trials of psychological interventions (including cognitive behavioural therapy, supportive counselling, psychotherapy, self-regulatory techniques, mindfulness-based cognitive therapy and disclosure therapy) provided as an adjunct to medication, 2) included rheumatoid arthritis patients aged ≥ 18 years, 3) reported findings for at least 1 of the primary outcomes: pain, fatigue, psychological status, functional disability and disease activity and 4) were published in English between January 2000 and March 2015 (updated January 2018). DATA SOURCES: We searched in MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews and the Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects. Reference lists were searched for additional reviews. REVIEW METHODS: Study selection and 50% of the quality assessments were performed by two independent reviewers. Methodological quality was measured using the Assessment of Multiple Systematic Reviews checklist. Data extraction was conducted by one reviewer using a predesigned data extraction form. RESULTS: Eight systematic reviews met inclusion criteria (one review was excluded due to its low-quality score). Small post intervention improvements in patient global assessment, functional disability, pain, fatigue, anxiety and depression were observed. The effect on coping, self-efficacy and physical activity was greater. Improvements in depression, coping and physical activity were maintained (8.5-14 months). Interventions delivered over a longer period with a maintenance component appeared more effective. Attention, education, and placebo control groups produced some improvements but not as large as those produced by the psychological interventions. CONCLUSIONS: Psychological interventions result in small to moderate improvements in biopsychosocial outcomes for patients with rheumatoid arthritis in addition to those achieved by standard care. Several priorities for future research were identified, including determining the cost effectiveness of non-psychologically trained health professionals delivering psychological interventions.
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“For CBT, the findings are similar to those in high quality reviews. For example, Bernady 2010 used Cochrane methods including GRADE in a review of psychological interventions for adults with fibromyalgia, including 29 RCTs. This agreement extends to CBT in rheumatoid arthritis (Prothero 2018).”
From Psychological therapies for the management of chronic pain (excluding headache) in adults (2020) · cites this paper as Prothero 2018
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Metadata
- Authors
- Prothero, L., Barley, E., Galloway, J., Georgopoulou, S., & Sturt, J.
- Affiliations
- King's College London (GB)
- University of West London (GB)
- University of East London (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Prothero, Louise
- Venue
- International Journal of Nursing Studies
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2018-06
- Volume
- 82
- Pages
- 20-29
- ISSN
- 0020-7489 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2793007471
- Cited by
- 115
- References
- 54
- Citations by year
- 2026: 8 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 10 · 2023: 20 · 2022: 16 · 2021: 29 · 2020: 13 · 2019: 9 · 2018: 1
- FWCI
- 2.15
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Update notices
- erratum (2020-07-01)
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- International Journal of Nursing Studies (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- UEL Research Repository (University of East London) (acceptedVersion)
- City Research Online (City University London) (acceptedVersion)
- UWL Repository (University of West London) (submittedVersion)
- Surrey Research Insight Open Access (The University of Surrey) (submittedVersion)
- Research Portal (King's College London) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- UEL Research Repository (University of East London) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- Funders
- National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) (RP-PG-0610-10066)
- King’s College Hospital Charity
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Rheumatology › Rheumatoid Arthritis Research and Therapies
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › Physical Therapy, Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation › Musculoskeletal pain and rehabilitation
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Mindfulness and Compassion Interventions
- Keywords
- psychological intervention, adjunctive therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, mindfulness-based cognitive therapy, supportive counseling, psychotherapy, pain, fatigue, depression, anxiety, functional disability, coping, self-efficacy, physical activity, intervention intensity, maintenance of treatment effects, biopsychosocial outcomes, cost-effectiveness
- MeSH terms
- Adaptation, Psychological, Arthritis, Rheumatoid, Humans, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Evidence-Based Medicine
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