TABLE 2.

Subgroup analyses of pain and WOMAC total score.

Outcome or subgroup	Number of studies	SMD (95%CI)	p-values	Possible intervention approaches
Pain
Overall	6	−1.53 [ −2.50, −0.55]	0.002	Immersive VR, 20 min/session, ≤3 sessions/week, Treatment durations <6 weeks
Degree of immersion
Immersive	4	−2.41 [ −3.89, −0.93]	0.001
Non-immersive	2	−0.11 [ −0.47, 0.25]	0.55
Treatment durations
<6 weeks	3	−2.25 [ −4.20, −0.29]	0.02
≥6 weeks	3	−1.07 [ −2.09, −0.05]	0.04
Treatment frequency
>3/week	2	−0.83 [ −1.20, −0.47]	< 0.00001
≤3/week	4	−2.10 [ −3.88, −0.32]	0.02
Treatment time
15 min	2	−1.35 [–2.77, 0.06]	0.06
20 min	4	−1.73 [–3.20, −0.26]	0.02
WOMAC total score
Overall	5	−14.79 [–28.26, −1.33]	0.03	Immersive VR, 15 min/session, ≤3 sessions/week, Treatment durations <6 weeks
Degree of immersion
Immersive	4	−17.58 [–32.61, −2.55]	0.02
Non-immersive	1	−2.81 [–11.43, 5.81]	0.52
Treatment durations
<6 weeks	2	−19.19 [–36.94, −1.44]	0.03
≥6 weeks	3	−11.75 [–33.66, 10.17]	0.29
Treatment frequency
>3/week	2	−5.82 [–13.78, 2.14]	0.15
≤3/week	3	−22.40 [–29.94, −14.86]	< 0.00001
Treatment time
15 min	2	−20.14 [–39.78,–0.50]	0.04
20 min	3	−11.12 [–31.70, 9.46]	0.29

SMD, standardised mean difference, 95%CI: 95% confidence interval, min: minutes. Bold value means p< 0.05.