Exploring the benefits of art therapy for anxiety and depression in women with breast cancer: A meta-analytical systematic review

IF 3.2 2区医学 Q1 PSYCHIATRY

Journal of psychiatric research Pub Date : 2025-05-19 DOI:10.1016/j.jpsychires.2025.05.027

Tangsen Huang, Xiangdong Yin

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Abstract

Objective

This meta-analysis examined the impact of art therapy on depression and anxiety in women with breast cancer.

Background

Many breast cancer patients experience significant psychological distress, particularly anxiety and depression, which can diminish their quality of life. While pharmacological treatments are commonly used, art therapy is gaining attention as a promising alternative intervention.

Methods

A comprehensive search of Web of Science, PubMed, and Scopus was conducted up to October 3, 2024, to identify relevant studies. Studies were eligible if they were randomized controlled trials, quasi-randomized trials, or controlled clinical trials involving women diagnosed with breast cancer who received art therapy targeting psychosocial outcomes. Art therapy modalities included music therapy, dance movement therapy, painting, drawing, and self-book© art therapy. The quality of included studies was evaluated using the Cochrane risk of bias tool.

Results

Seventeen studies met the inclusion criteria, comprising 617 participants in the intervention group and 620 in the control group. The duration of interventions ranged from 1 week to 24 months. The overall pooled effect size for art therapy's impact on anxiety was −1.594 (95 % CI, −2.405 to −0.784), and for depression, −0.771 (95 % CI, −1.347 to −0.195). When studies with high risk of bias were excluded, the effect sizes remained significant for both anxiety (−1.430; 95 % CI, −1.665 to −1.195) and depression (−1.229; 95 % CI, −2.280 to −0.177), with a corresponding reduction in heterogeneity. Subgroup analyses explored the role of study quality, participant age, and intervention duration in the variability of effect sizes.

Conclusion

Art therapy significantly reduces anxiety and depression among women with breast cancer. These findings support the integration of art-based interventions into psychosocial oncology care.

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探索艺术疗法对乳腺癌患者焦虑和抑郁的益处：一项荟萃分析系统综述

目的：本荟萃分析探讨艺术治疗对乳腺癌患者抑郁和焦虑的影响。许多乳腺癌患者都会经历严重的心理困扰，尤其是焦虑和抑郁，这会降低他们的生活质量。虽然通常使用药物治疗，但艺术治疗作为一种有希望的替代干预措施正受到关注。方法综合检索Web of Science、PubMed、Scopus，检索截止到2024年10月3日的相关研究。如果研究是随机对照试验、准随机试验或对照临床试验，涉及被诊断患有乳腺癌的妇女，她们接受了针对心理社会结果的艺术治疗，则研究是合格的。艺术治疗方式包括音乐治疗、舞蹈动作治疗、绘画、绘画、自备书籍©艺术治疗。使用Cochrane偏倚风险工具评估纳入研究的质量。结果17项研究符合纳入标准，干预组617人，对照组620人。干预时间从1周到24个月不等。艺术治疗对焦虑影响的总体合并效应大小为- 1.594 (95% CI, - 2.405至- 0.784)，对抑郁影响的总体合并效应大小为- 0.771 （95% CI, - 1.347至- 0.195）。当排除高偏倚风险的研究时，焦虑的效应量仍然显著(- 1.430；95% CI, - 1.665至- 1.195)和抑郁(- 1.229；95% CI, - 2.280至- 0.177)，异质性相应降低。亚组分析探讨了研究质量、参与者年龄和干预持续时间在效应大小变异性中的作用。结论艺术治疗可明显减轻乳腺癌患者的焦虑和抑郁。这些发现支持将基于艺术的干预措施整合到社会心理肿瘤护理中。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Journal of psychiatric research 医学-精神病学

CiteScore

7.30

自引率

2.10%

发文量

622

审稿时长

130 days

期刊介绍： Founded in 1961 to report on the latest work in psychiatry and cognate disciplines, the Journal of Psychiatric Research is dedicated to innovative and timely studies of four important areas of research: (1) clinical studies of all disciplines relating to psychiatric illness, as well as normal human behaviour, including biochemical, physiological, genetic, environmental, social, psychological and epidemiological factors; (2) basic studies pertaining to psychiatry in such fields as neuropsychopharmacology, neuroendocrinology, electrophysiology, genetics, experimental psychology and epidemiology; (3) the growing application of clinical laboratory techniques in psychiatry, including imagery and spectroscopy of the brain, molecular biology and computer sciences;