• Christian Rejbrand, Brynjar Fure, and Karin Sonnby.
• Faculty of Medicine and Health, School of Medical Sciences, Campus USÖ, Örebro, Sweden.
• Ups. J. Med. Sci. 2023 Jan 1; 128.

IntroductionSocial anxiety is common and can have far-reaching implications for affected individuals, both on social life and working performance. Usage of virtual reality exposure therapy (VRET) has gained traction. The aim of the present systematic review was to evaluate the effect of stand-alone VRET on social anxiety symptoms.MethodWe searched systematically in PubMed, Embase, PSYCinfo, and ERIC in May 2022 for studies with participants with social anxiety symptoms receiving stand-alone VRET. Two reviewers independently selected relevant studies in a two-step procedure, and the risk of bias was assessed.ResultsOf 158 hits, 7 studies were selected for full-text reading, 6 were chosen for evaluation, and 5 were included in meta-analyses. VRET resulted in a significantly lower anxiety score in treated individuals with a standard mean difference of -0.82, 95% confidence interval -1.52 to -0.13, compared to controls.ConclusionStand-alone VRET may reduce social anxiety symptoms. However, despite promising results, there is still uncertainty as the effect estimate is based on few studies with few participants each and a high risk of bias.© 2023 The Author(s). Published by Upsala Medical Society.

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