Acúfenos: Sección Psicología, el efecto de la lista de espera sobre los acufenos

The effect of waiting: A meta-analysis of wait-list control groups in trials for tinnitus distress

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Hugo Hesser^{a, ,} , Cornelia Weise^a, Winfried Rief^b and Gerhard Andersson^{a, c}

^a Department of Behavioural Sciences and Learning, Linnaeus Centre, Swedish Institute for Disability Research, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
^b Department of Clinical Psychology, University of Marburg, Marburg, Germany
^c Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Psychiatry Section, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden

Received 3 September 2010; 

revised 15 November 2010; 

accepted 14 December 2010. 

Available online 8 February 2011.

Abstract

Objective

The response rates and effects of being placed on a wait-list control condition are well documented in psychiatric populations.

Despite the usefulness of such estimates and the frequent use of no-treatment controls in clinical trials for tinnitus, the effect of waiting in a tinnitus trial has not been investigated systematically.

The aim of the present study was to quantify the overall effect of wait-list control groups on tinnitus distress.

Methods

Studies were retrieved via a systematic review of randomised controlled trials of cognitive behaviour therapy for tinnitus distress.
Outcomes of psychometrically robust tinnitus-specific measures (Tinnitus Handicap Inventory, Tinnitus Questionnaire, Tinnitus Reaction Questionnaire) from wait-list control groups were quantified using meta-analytic techniques.
Percentage of change and standard mean difference effect sizes were calculated using the pre and post wait period.

Results

Eleven studies involving 314 wait-list subjects with tinnitus were located.
The analysis for a waiting period of 6 to 12 weeks revealed a mean decrease in scores on tinnitus-specific measures of 3% to 8%.
Across studies, a statically significant small mean within-group effect size was obtained (Hedges' g=.17).

The effects were moderated by methodological quality of the trial, sample characteristics (i.e., age, tinnitus duration), time of the wait-list and how diagnosis was established.

Conclusion

Subjects in a tinnitus trial improve in tinnitus distress over a short waiting phase.

The effects of waiting are highly variable and depend on the characteristics of the sample and of the trial.

Keywords: Tinnitus; Meta-analysis; Placebo effects; Wait-list group; Randomised controlled trial; Benchmark

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Fuente :Journal of Psychosomatic Research
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