title: Cognitive Behaviour Therapy for Health Anxiety: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Health anxiety (HA), or hypochondriasis, is a psychological problem characterized by a preoccupation with the belief that one is physically unwell. A 2007 Cochrane review (Thomson and Page, 2007) found cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) to be an effective intervention for individuals with HA. Similar findings were reported in a recent meta-analysis (Olatunji et al., 2014), which did not employ a systematic search strategy. The current review aimed to investigate the efficacy of CBT for HA, and to update the existing reviews.
  
  
  METHODS
  A systematic search was conducted following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidance, including randomized controlled trials that compared CBT with a control condition for people with HA. Five hundred and sixty-seven studies were found in the original search, of which 14 were included in the meta-analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Meta-analysis was conducted on 21 comparisons and a large effect size for CBT compared with a control condition was found at post therapy d = 1.01 (95% confidence interval 0.77-1.25), as well as at 6- and 12-month follow-up.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This systematic review and meta-analysis provides support for the hypothesis that CBT is an effective intervention for HA when compared with a variety of control conditions, e.g. treatment-as-usual, waiting list, medication, and other psychological therapies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology,University of Bath,Claverton Down,Bath BA2 7AY.
authors.forename: Kate
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8216-5567
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Cooper
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology,University of Bath,Claverton Down,Bath BA2 7AY.
authors.forename: James D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Gregory
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology,University of Bath,Claverton Down,Bath BA2 7AY.
authors.forename: Ian
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Walker
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology,University of Bath,Claverton Down,Bath BA2 7AY.
authors.forename: Sinead
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lambe
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology,University of Bath,Claverton Down,Bath BA2 7AY.
authors.forename: Paul M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Salkovskis
mesh_terms: D001007:Anxiety; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D015928:Cognitive Behavioral Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D006998:Hypochondriasis / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy*; D011613:Psychotherapy / Q000379:methods
keywords: Hypochondriasis; cognitive behavioural therapy; health anxiety; meta-analysis; systematic review