Table 1.
Characteristics of the 38 included meta-analysis papers
| Author, Year | List of Interventions evaluated | List of Comparison groups | Type of pain | Number of included meta-analyses in this umbrella reviewa | Primary studies per included meta-analysisb | Sample size per included meta-analysisb |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adachi T, 2013 | • Hypnosis | • Standard care • Other psychological treatments |
• Chronic | 3 | 4 to 12 | 163 to 505 |
| Aqqarwal VR, 2011 | • Any psychosocial intervention • Cognitive behavioural therapy only • Biofeedback only • Cognitive behavioural therapy + Biofeedback • Hypnotherapy |
• Usual treatment • Relaxation |
• Muscle palpation • Orofacial |
7 | 2 to 4 | 45 to 411 |
| Bawa F, 2015 | • Mindfulness | • Active control • Inactive Control |
• Chronic pain intensity | 2 | 4 to 5 | 104 to 349 |
| Bernardy K, 2011 | • Hypnotherapy | • Cognitive behavioural therapy/Treated as usual/Waiting list/Attention placebo | • Fibromyalgia | 1 | 6 | 178 |
| Bernardy K, 2013 | • Cognitive behavioural therapy • Operant therapy • Self-management |
• Active control/Attention control/Education/Treated as usual/Support | • Fibromyalgia | 9 | 2 to 18 | 123 to 1150 |
| Birnie K, 2014 | • Distraction | • Not Reported | • Needle-related (children, adolescents) | 1 | 24 | 2472 |
| Champaneria, 2012 | • Psychological intervention | • No psychological intervention | • Chronic pelvic | 2 | 2 to 2 | 139 to 156 |
| Damen L, 2006 | • Relaxation + Biofeedback + Cognitive behavioural therapy • Relaxation + Biofeedback • Relaxation + Cognitive behavioural therapy • Biofeedback |
• Control • Attention placebo • Waiting list |
• Headache | 4 | 2 to 3 | 44 to 71 |
| Dixon K, 2007 | • Cognitive behavioural therapy/Stress management/Hypnotherapy | • Not Reported | • Arthritis | 1 | 20 | 2303 |
| Du S, 2011 | • Arthritis Self-Management Program/Self-management | • Waiting list/Usual care/Conventional/No treatment | • Chronic musculoskeletal | 3 | 3 to 8 | 1018 to 2968 |
| Eccleston C, 2014a | • Psychological therapies (Internet-delivered) | • Active control/Treated as usual/Waiting list | • Chronic Non- headache • Chronic headache |
3 | 2 to 11 | 131 to 1785 |
| Eccleston C, 2014b | • Psychological therapies | • Control | • Chronic and recurrent non-headache (children, adolescents) • Chronic and recurrent headache (children, adolescents) |
4 | 5 to 15 | 251 to 852 |
| Fisher E, 2014 | • Cognitive behavioural therapy/Biofeedback/ Relaxation/ Hypnotherapy | • Waiting list/Education/Standard care/ Self-monitoring | • Chronic Non- headache • Chronic headache |
2 | 11 to 18 | 672 to 748 |
| Flanagan E, 2015 | • Cognitive behavioural therapy only • Cognitive behavioural therapy + behavioural |
• Other psychological treatment • Waiting list • Medical treatment |
• General vaginal pain • Pain on intercourse |
6 | 2 to 3 | 83 to 148 |
| Glombiewski JA, 2010 | • Education/ Cognitive behavioural therapy/ Relaxation | • Cognitive behavioural therapy/Treated as usual/Waiting list/Attention placebo | • Fibromyalgia | 1 | 21 | 1017 |
| Guzman J, 2002 | • Multidisciplinary bio-psychosocial rehabilitation program | • Not Reported | • Low back | 8 | 2 to 4 | 142 to 442 |
| Henrich J, 2015 | • Psychological therapies | • Control | • Irritable bowel syndrome | 1 | 32 | 2245 |
| Henschke N, 2011 | • Behavioural treatment • Behavioural treatment + physiotherapy • Cognitive behavioural therapy • Cognitive therapy • Operant therapy • Respondent therapy |
• Usual care • Group exercise • Physiotherapy • Cognitive therapy • Operant therapy • Respondent therapy • Waiting list |
• Chronic low back, IT | 23 | 2 to 5 | 44 to 405 |
| Johannsen M, 2013 | • Education/ Relaxation, guided imagery, meditation or hypnosis / Supportive group therapy | • Waiting list/Standard care/Not Reported | • Breast cancer (patients/survivors) | 1 | 21 | 1770 |
| Kamper SJ, 2014 | • Multidisciplinary biopsychological rehabilitation | • Usual care • Physical treatment • Surgery • Waiting list |
• Chronic low back | 8 | 2 to 12 | 213 to 1661 |
| Kisely SR, 2015 | • Psychological intervention | • No psychological intervention | • Chest | 5 | 2 to 7 | 111 to 294 |
| Knittle K, 2010 | • Self-regulation | • Waiting list/Standard care/No Intervention | • Rheumatoid Arthritis | 1 | 22 | 1316 |
| Koranyi S, 2014 | • Psychological intervention | • Control • Treated as usual |
• Acute pain after open heart surgery | 3 | 3 to 4 | 280 to 413 |
| Kroon FP, 2014 | • Self-management education programmes | • No Self-management education programmes • Information • Usual care/Waiting list/No treatment |
• Osteoarthritis | 6 | 2 to 13 | 118 to 2271 |
| Lakhan S, 2013 | • Mindfulness-based therapy/ Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy | • Education/Waiting list/Support | • Fibromyalgia • Irritable bowel syndrome |
2 | 2 to 4 | 160 to 276 |
| Lauche R, 2013 | • Mindfulness-based stress reduction | • Active control • Usual care |
• Fibromyalgia Syndrome | 4 | 2 to 3 | 174 to 323 |
| Macea DD, 2010 | • Web-based Cognitive behavioural therapy interventions | • Control | • Chronic pain | 1 | 11 | 2958 |
| Mustafa M, 2013 | • Supportive/expressive group therapy | • Usual treatment | • Metastatic breast cancer | 1 | 3 | 279 |
| Osborn RL, 2006 | • Education | • Control | • Cancer survivors | 1 | 3 | 250 |
| Peerdeman K, 2016 | • Verbal suggestion/ Imagery • Verbal suggestion only • Conditioning only • Imagery only |
• Control/No treatment | • Affective pain • Expected pain • Pain relief |
5 | 3 to 18 | 142 to 1061 |
| Roldan-Barraza C, 2014 | • Psychosocial Intervention/ Psychosocial Intervention + Usual Treatment | • Usual Treatment • Tailored Usual Treatment |
• Myofascial Temporomandibular Disorder | 5 | 3 to 7 | 238 to 470 |
| Sheinfeld Gorin S, 2012 | • Psychological intervention | • Control | • Cancer pain severity | 1 | 38 | 4270 |
| Sielski R, 2016 | • Biofeedback/ Electromyographic Biofeedback | • Control | • Chronic back | 2 | 11 to 22 | 471 to 1059 |
| Sprenger L, 2011 | • Psychoeducation/Imagination/Relaxation/Biofeedback/Cognitive behavioural therapy | • No treatment/Paediatric standard care | • Recurrent abdominal in children | 1 | 9 | 449 |
| Theadom A, 2015 | • Psychological therapies • Mindfulness • Relaxation |
• Usual care • Attention control |
• Fibromyalgia | 7 | 2 to 9 | 67 to 453 |
| Uman LS, 2013 | • Child distraction • Cognitive behavioural therapy-combined • Hypnosis • Parent coaching + child distraction • Preparation and information • Suggestion • Virtual reality |
• Control • Standard care |
• Needle-related (children, adolescents) | 8 | 2 to 5 | 50 to 612 |
| Vellemain S, 2010 | • Computerized Cognitive behavioural therapy | • Waiting list/ Education | • Pain in children and adolescents | 1 | 4 | 150 |
| Williams AC, 2012 | • Behavioural • Cognitive behavioural |
• Treated as usual • Active control |
• Chronic non- headache | 6 | 2 to 16 | 182 to 1335 |
aNumber of included meta-analyses may differ from the number of combinations of intervention group, control group and outcome because I) some possible combinations were not assessed in original studies, and II) there are instances where the outcome was evaluated in different time points. For a complete list of the combinations included in this umbrella review please refer to Additional file 1: Table S1
bWhen more than one meta-analysis is included per study, numbers represent minimum-maximum