In people with generalized anxiety disorder, virtual reality-based interventions alleviate the symptoms and improve the patient's quality of life.

The effectiveness of immersive virtual reality techniques and non-immersive approaches in treating generalized anxiety disorder patients was evaluated by a systematic review and meta-analysis.

For the meta-analysis, comparative clinical trials that evaluated the effects of virtual reality techniques in people with generalized anxiety disorder were incorporated. Only single-arm trials were considered for the systematic review. Overall, 6 articles and 239 individuals (mean age varied from 38.33-59.87 years) suffering from generalized anxiety disorder were incorporated.

There was no clinically meaningful difference in the Penn State Worry Questionnaire (PSWQ) (mean difference [MD] = -4.26), anxiety levels (standardized mean difference [SMD] 0.01), mean depression scores (SMD 1.34), or degree of discomfort (SMD  -1.41) between the virtual reality technique group and control group.

Virtual reality technology appears to be beneficial for the management of chronic uncontrollable excessive anxiety.