Table 1. Characteristics of all included meta-analyses.
| Study (author, year) | Period | Study design analyzed | Population analyzed | Sample size, n (VRa group and control group) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chen et al [24], 2014 | 1993-2013 | RCTb/CRc | Neurology | 128 (100 and 28) |
| Välimäki et al [25], 2014 | 1994-2012 | RCT | Pediatrics | 156 (80 and 76) |
| Cheok et al [26], 2015 | 2010-2014 | RCT | Neurology | 166 (84 and 84) |
| Chen et al [27], 2015 | 2008-2015 | RCT | Neurology | 76 (38 and 38) |
| Christensen et al [28], 2016 | 1997-2013 | RCT | Older adults | 343 (183 and 160) |
| Howes et al [29], 2017 | 2003-2015 | RCT | Older adults | 719 (364 and 355) |
| Bukola and Paula [30], 2017 | 2002-2013 | RCT | Cancer | 144 (71 and 73) |
| Laver et al [31], 2017 | 2004-2017 | RCT | Neurology | 2470 (N/Ad) |
| Scheffler et al [32], 2018 | 1981-2013 | RCT | Sugery/wound | 178 (135 and 43) |
| Wang et al [33], 2019 | 2003-2018 | RCT | Osteoarthritis | 126 (63 and 63) |
| Eijlers et al [18], 2019 | 1999-2018 | RCT/ITSSe | Pediatrics | N/A |
| Lei et al [13], 2019 | 2011-2018 | RCT | Neurology | 555 (N/A) |
| Kim et al [34], 2019 | 2003-2017 | RCT/CTf | Neurology | 271 (150 and 121) |
| Perrochon et al [35], 2019 | 2013-2017 | RCT | Neurology | 613 (306 and 305) |
| Zeng et al [36], 2019 | 2013-2018 | RCT/CCTg/PPSh | Cancer | 225 (137 and 136) |
| Corregidor-Sanchez et al [37], 2020 | 2011-2019 | RCT | Older adults | 491 (336 and 155) |
| Custodio et al [38], 2020 | 2012-2018 | RCT | Pediatrics | N/A |
| De Miguel-Rubio et al [19], 2020 | 2010-2018 | RCT/COSi/CR | Pediatrics | 188 (131 and 57) |
| De Miguel-Rubio et al [39], 2020 | 2012-2018 | RCT | Pediatrics | 150 (81 and 69) |
| De Miguel-Rubio et al [40], 2020 | 2011-2018 | CT | Pediatrics | 103 (57 and 46) |
| Ding et al [41], 2020 | 2013-2019 | RCT | Surgery/wound | 723 (363 and 360) |
| Dominguez-Tellez et al [42], 2020 | 2007-2018 | RCT | Neurology | 874 (440 and 434) |
| Georgescu et al [43], 2020 | 2000-2018 | RCT | Surgery/wound | 1452 (659 and 793) |
| Lauwens et al [44], 2020 | 2000-2019 | RCT/CR | Surgery/wound | 142 (N/A) |
| Lopez-Valverde et al [45], 2020 | 2001-2009 | RCT | Pediatrics | 891 (485 and 406) |
| Low et al [46], 2021 | 2004-2019 | RCT | Pediatrics | 297 (154 and 143) |
| Czech et al [47], 2021 | 2002-2018 | RCT | Pediatrics | 617 (394 and 223) |
| Fandim et al [48], 2021 | 2003-2019 | RCT | Neurology | 1233 (629 and 604) |
| Chen et al [49], 2021 | 2007-2020 | RCT | Neurology | 1428 (656 and 772) |
| Jung et al [50], 2021 | 2010-2021 | RCT | Neurology | 41 (21 and 21) |
| Li et al [51], 2021 | 2012-2020 | RCT | Neurology | 836 (426 and 410) |
| Sajeev et al [52], 2021 | 2005-2020 | RCT | Pediatrics | 1085 (537 and 548) |
| Yen and Chiu [53], 2021 | 2012-2020 | RCT | Older adults | 1022 (503 and 519) |
| Zhang et al [54], 2021 | 2011-2019 | RCT | Neurology | 3540 (1783 and 1757) |
| Zhang et al [55], 2021 | 2011-2020 | RCT | Neurology | 894 (414 and 480) |
| Zhong et al [56], 2021 | 2014-2021 | RCT | Neurology | 744 (374 and 370) |
| Blasco-Peris et al [57], 2022 | 2006-2021 | RCT | Older adults | 152 (81 and 71) |
| Bu et al [58], 2022 | 2013-2021 | RCT/QCTj/PPS | Cancer | 478 (330 and 148) |
| Chan et al [59], 2022 | 2012-2021 | RCT | Neurology | 48 (16 and 32) |
| Chen et al [60], 2022 | 2007-2021 | RCT | Neurology | 789 (380 and 409) |
| Chen et al [61], 2022 | 2016-2021 | RCT | Neurology | 1149 (571 and 578) |
| Chen et al [62], 2023 | 2017-2019 | RCT | Surgery/wound | 529 (263 and 266) |
| Czech et al [2], 2022 | 2005-2021 | RCT/COS | Surgery/wound | 587 (481 and 106) |
| Huber et al [63], 2022 | 2008-2020 | RCT | Neurology | 214 (108 and 106) |
| Kim et al [64], 2022 | 2012-2021 | RCT | Neurology | 793 (357 and 436) |
| Mo et al [65], 2022 | 2012-2021 | RCT/PPS | Cancer | N/A |
| Obrero-Gaitán et al [66], 2022 | 2015-2022 | RCT/PPS | Cancer | 1547 (783 and 764) |
| Saliba et al [67], 2022 | 2006-2020 | RCT | Pediatrics | 930 (468 and 462) |
| Simonetti et al [68], 2022 | 2017-2019 | RCT | Surgery/wound | 602 (297 and 305) |
| Suleiman-Martos et al [69], 2022 | 2012-2021 | RCT | Surgery/wound | 603 (300 and 303) |
| Tas et al [20], 2022 | 1999-2020 | RCT/ITSS | Pediatrics | 1695 (N/A) |
| Thi et al [70], 2022 | 1998-2017 | RCT | Cancer | 201 (92 and 109) |
| Wang et al [16], 2023 | 2015-2021 | RCT | Kinesiophobia | 488 (208 and 280) |
| Wang et al [71], 2022 | 2019-2021 | RCT | Surgery/wound | 1146 (571 and 575) |
| He et al [72], 2022 | 2007-2021 | RCT | Surgery/wound | 1258 (588 and 670) |
| Zhang et al [73], 2022 | 2016-2020 | RCT/QCT | Cancer | 443 (236 and 207) |
| Zhang et al [74], 2022 | 2016-2019 | RCT | Neurology | 609 (303 and 306) |
| Wong et al [75], 2023 | 2002-2022 | RCT | Anxiety | 720 (N/A) |
| Liu et al [76], 2023 | 2017-2019 | RCT | Neurology | 752 (N/A) |
| Hao et al [77], 2023 | 2017-2022 | RCT/CCT | Cancer | 799 (N/A) |
| Kodvavi et al [78], 2023 | 2018-2022 | RCT | Surgery/wound | 375 (188 and 187) |
| Parra et al [79], 2023 | 2011-2022 | RCT | Neurology | 898 (N/A) |
| Chen et al [80], 2023 | 2008-2022 | RCT | Older adults | 482 (N/A) |
| Kavradim et al [81], 2023 | 2013-2022 | RCT | Older adults | 739 (369 and 370) |
| Shen et al [82], 2023 | 2012-2021 | RCT | Neurology | 423 (N/A) |
| Bok et al [83], 2023 | 2009-2017 | RCT | Neurology | 761 (383 and 378) |
| Tian et al [84], 2023 | 2004-2021 | RCT/QCT | Cancer | 797 (N/A) |
| Yan et al [85], 2023 | 2012-2022 | RCT | Pediatrics | 818 (404 and 414) |
| Gao et al [86], 2023 | 2017-2022 | RCT | Surgery/wound | 892 (N/A) |
| Wu et al [87], 2023 | 2018-2022 | RCT | Cancer | 425 (202 and 223) |
| Ren et al [88], 2023 | 2011-2021 | RCT | Older adults | 2404 (1181 and 1223) |
| Lee et al [89], 2023 | Not reported | RCT | Older adults | 1095 (N/A) |
| Burrai et al [90], 2023 | 2003-2022 | RCT/COS | Cancer | 459 (222 and 237) |
| Percy et al [91], 2023 | 2015-2021 | RCT | Older adults | 265 (162 and 103) |
a
VR: virtual reality.
b
RCT: randomized controlled trial.
c
CR: case report.
d
N/A: not applicable.
e
ITSS: interrupted time series study.
f
CT: controlled trial.
g
CCT: controlled clinical trial.
h
PPS: pre-post study.
i
COS: cross-over study.
j
QCT: quasi-controlled trial.