Systematic Review of Nocebo Effects in Long-Term Health Conditions

Thirteen experimental studies on nocebo effects in adults with chronic pain, asthma, Parkinson’s disease, cancer, and dermatology, synthesized by Billy A. Church. The review, registered on OSF and following PRISMA 2020 guidelines, was last updated in May 2026. It narratively synthesizes findings on induction methods, symptom domains, and moderators.

Use Cases

• Analyzing methods for inducing nocebo effects based on the described use of verbal suggestion and negatively framed communication.
• Reviewing evidence on symptom domains affected by nocebo responses based on the described coverage of subjective intensity, physiological markers, and brain activation.
• Identifying research gaps in psychological moderators based on the described inconsistent measurement of anxiety and other factors.
• Informing clinical communication strategies based on the review's conclusions about reducing unnecessary symptom burden.

Strengths

• The review is preregistered on OSF and follows PRISMA 2020 guidelines, indicating a structured methodology.
• It synthesizes findings from 13 studies across five distinct long-term health conditions.
• Quality of included studies was assessed using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT).

Limitations

• The dataset is a 13.2 KB DOCX document, indicating a limited scope focused on review text rather than raw experimental data.
• Row count and column-level documentation are absent; the document's structure must be inspected after download.
• Findings were synthesized narratively due to substantial heterogeneity in procedures and outcomes, limiting quantitative analysis.

Provenance

Source

figshare

Collection Method

Systematic review of MEDLINE, Web of Science, PsycINFO, and CINAHL databases up to August 2025.

Time Range

Studies included up to August 2025.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-05-08 05:30:38.

Geography

Not specified in the provided description.