Nocebo Effects in Long-Term Health Conditions: A Systematic Review of Experimental Studies

Billy A. Church's systematic review synthesizes experimental evidence on nocebo effects in adults with long-term health conditions. The review, preregistered on OSF and following PRISMA 2020 guidelines, includes 13 studies covering chronic pain, asthma, Parkinson’s disease, cancer, and dermatology. It was last updated on 2026-05-08.

Use Cases

• Analyzing induction methods for nocebo effects based on the review of verbal suggestion and conditioning procedures.
• Studying symptom domains affected by nocebo responses based on the described outcomes in chronic pain and asthma.
• Investigating psychological moderators like anxiety based on their inconsistent measurement noted in the review.
• Informing clinical communication strategies to reduce harm based on the review's conclusions about treatment information framing.

Strengths

• Follows PRISMA 2020 guidelines and was preregistered on the Open Science Framework, enhancing methodological transparency.
• Synthesizes findings from 13 experimental studies across five long-term condition domains.
• Released under a CC-BY-4.0 license, permitting open sharing and adaptation.

Limitations

• The dataset is a 14.8 KB DOCX document, indicating a limited textual summary rather than raw experimental data.
• Row count and column-level documentation are absent; data structure and granularity must be inferred from the narrative review.
• Substantial heterogeneity in induction procedures and outcome measures across the included studies is noted, limiting direct comparability.

Provenance

Source

Billy A. Church via figshare.

Collection Method

Systematic review following PRISMA 2020, searching MEDLINE, Web of Science, PsycINFO, and CINAHL to August 21, 2025.

Time Range

Review covers literature up to August 2025.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-05-08 05:30:36.

Geography

null