A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials depicted that cognitive behavioral therapy increases the quality of life while lowering pain severity, total social costs, gastrointestinal symptoms, depression, and solicitousness in abdominal pain disorders-affected people. Investigators aimed to investigate the efficacy of cognitive behavioral therapy in pediatric functional abdominal pain disorders and unclassified recurrent or chronic abdominal pain.

Databases including Cochrane Library, Embase, and PubMed were investigated for relevant randomized controlled trials. Overall, 10 trials (n = 872) were incorporated. Data on two primary and four secondary outcomes were gathered, and the methodological quality of the studies was evaluated.  To estimate the same outcome, the standardized mean difference (SMD) was utilized, and the precisions of effect sizes were noted as 95% confidence intervals.

The effects of cognitive behavioral therapy were substantially favorable in reducing pain intensity immediately (SMD: -0.54), 3 months later (SMD: -0.55), and 12 months later (SMD: -0.32). This therapy also minimized severity of gastrointestinal symptoms, solicitousness, and depression, reduced the total social cost, and improved the quality of life.

Cognitive behavioral therapy is promising for managing recurrent and functional abdominal pain disorders in adolescents and children. Future research should compare various delivery strategies for cognitive behavioral therapy as well as uniform treatments in the control group.