Background

Virtual reality (VR) technologies are playing an increasingly important role in the diagnostics and treatment of mental disorders.

Objective

To systematically review the current evidence regarding the use of VR in the diagnostics and treatment of mental disorders.

Data source

Systematic literature searches via PubMed (last literature update: 9^th of May 2022) were conducted for the following areas of psychopathology: Specific phobias, panic disorder and agoraphobia, social anxiety disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), obsessive-compulsive disorder, eating disorders, dementia disorders, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, depression, autism spectrum disorder, schizophrenia spectrum disorders, and addiction disorders.

Eligibility criteria

To be eligible, studies had to be published in English, to be peer-reviewed, to report original research data, to be VR-related, and to deal with one of the above-mentioned areas of psychopathology.

Study evaluation

For each study included, various study characteristics (including interventions and conditions, comparators, major outcomes and study designs) were retrieved and a risk of bias score was calculated based on predefined study quality criteria.

Results

Across all areas of psychopathology, k = 9315 studies were inspected, of which k = 721 studies met the eligibility criteria. From these studies, 43.97% were considered assessment-related, 55.48% therapy-related, and 0.55% were mixed. The highest research activity was found for VR exposure therapy in anxiety disorders, PTSD and addiction disorders, where the most convincing evidence was found, as well as for cognitive trainings in dementia and social skill trainings in autism spectrum disorder.

Conclusion

While VR exposure therapy will likely find its way successively into regular patient care, there are also many other promising approaches, but most are not yet mature enough for clinical application.

Review registration

PROSPERO register CRD42020188436.

Funding

The review was funded by budgets from the University of Bonn. No third party funding was involved.

中文翻译：

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精神障碍诊断和治疗中的虚拟现实：系统评价

背景

虚拟现实（VR）技术在精神障碍的诊断和治疗中发挥着越来越重要的作用。

客观的

系统地回顾有关 VR 在精神障碍诊断和治疗中的应用的当前证据。

数据源

通过 PubMed（最后一次文献更新：2022 年 5 月 9^日）对以下精神病理学领域进行了系统的文献检索：特定恐惧症、恐慌症和广场恐惧症、社交焦虑症、广泛性焦虑症、创伤后应激障碍 (PTSD)、强迫症强迫症、进食障碍、痴呆症、注意力缺陷/多动症、抑郁症、自闭症谱系障碍、精神分裂症谱系障碍和成瘾障碍。

资格标准

符合条件的研究必须以英文发表、经过同行评审、报告原始研究数据、与 VR 相关，并涉及上述精神病理学领域之一。

研究评估

对于纳入的每项研究，检索了各种研究特征（包括干预措施和条件、比较对象、主要结果和研究设计），并根据预定义的研究质量标准计算了偏倚风险评分。

结果

在精神病理学的所有领域，检查了 k = 9315 项研究，其中 k = 721 项研究符合资格标准。在这些研究中，43.97% 被认为与评估相关，55.48% 与治疗相关，0.55% 是混合的。焦虑症、创伤后应激障碍和成瘾症的 VR 暴露疗法的研究活动最多，发现了最有说服力的证据，以及痴呆症的认知训练和自闭症谱系障碍的社交技能训练。

结论

虽然 VR 暴露疗法可能会逐渐进入常规患者护理，但还有许多其他有前途的方法，但大多数还不够成熟，无法用于临床应用。

审核注册

PROSPERO 注册 CRD42020188436。

资金

该审查由波恩大学的预算资助。没有涉及第三方资助。