Academic Journal
Effects of virtual reality-based interventions on craving in substance use disorders: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
| Title: | Effects of virtual reality-based interventions on craving in substance use disorders: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. |
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| Authors: | Li J; School of Physical Education, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai 200438, China., Ding F; School of Physical Education, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai 200438, China., Chen J; School of Physical Education, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai 200438, China., Ma X; School of Physical Education, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai 200438, China., Wang X; School of Physical Education, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai 200438, China., Hong Q; School of Sports and Health, Shanghai University of International Business and Economics, Shanghai 201620, China., Li H; School of Journalism and Communication, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai 200438, China. Electronic address: lihui@sus.edu.cn. |
| Source: | Drug and alcohol dependence [Drug Alcohol Depend] 2026 Aug 01; Vol. 285, pp. 113226. Date of Electronic Publication: 2026 Jun 02. |
| Publication Type: | Journal Article; Systematic Review; Meta-Analysis; Review |
| Language: | English |
| Journal Info: | Publisher: Elsevier Country of Publication: Ireland NLM ID: 7513587 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1879-0046 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 03768716 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Drug Alcohol Depend Subsets: MEDLINE |
| Imprint Name(s): | Publication: Limerick : Elsevier Original Publication: Lausanne, Elsevier Sequoia. |
| MeSH Terms: | Substance-Related Disorders*/therapy , Substance-Related Disorders*/psychology , Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic*/methods , Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy*/methods , Craving* , Virtual Reality*, Humans ; Treatment Outcome |
| Abstract: | Objective: To systematically evaluate the efficacy of virtual reality-based interventions in reducing craving among individuals with substance use disorders. Results: Nine randomized controlled trials involving 553 participants (290 in the intervention groups and 263 in the control groups) were included, covering illicit drug, alcohol, and nicotine use disorders. Meta-analysis demonstrated that VR interventions significantly reduced craving in individuals with substance use disorders (SMD = -0.52, 95% CI [-0.78, -0.27], P < 0.05). This moderate effect size, considered alongside the distribution-based minimal clinically important difference threshold of approximately 0.5 standard deviations, suggests a potentially clinically meaningful improvement. Subgroup analyses indicated greater efficacy among individuals with illicit drug use disorders (SMD = -0.61). Interventions involving more than seven sessions (SMD = -0.60), session durations of less than 60min (SMD = -0.61), and VR cue exposure combined with neutral environments demonstrated comparatively superior effects. However, these subgroup findings should be interpreted cautiously due to the limited number of included studies. Discussion: Current evidence indicates that virtual reality interventions may contribute to reducing craving among individuals with substance use disorder and demonstrate promising potential for clinical application. Although the included studies were generally of moderate-to-good methodological quality and the overall certainty of evidence was rated as moderate, the optimal intervention parameters have yet to be clearly established. Therefore, larger-scale and more rigorously designed randomized controlled trials are warranted to further confirm the clinical efficacy, stability, and generalizability of VR-based interventions. (Copyright © 2026 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.) |
| Competing Interests: | Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper. |
| Contributed Indexing: | Keywords: Craving; Substance use disorder; Systematic review; Virtual reality |
| Entry Date(s): | Date Created: 20260612 Date Completed: 20260627 Latest Revision: 20260708 |
| Update Code: | 20260709 |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2026.113226 |
| PMID: | 42284932 |
| Database: | MEDLINE |
| ISSN: | 1879-0046 |
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| DOI: | 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2026.113226 |