Digital Intervention Aids Psychological Outcomes With Inflammatory Rheumatic Diseases

WEDNESDAY, Sept. 17, 2025 (HealthDay News) — A digital psychological intervention is safe and effective for individuals with inflammatory rheumatic diseases (IRDs), according to a study published online Sept. 9 in JAMA Network Open.

Johannes Knitza, M.D., Ph.D., from Philipps-Universität Marburg in Germany, and colleagues assessed whether a digital psychological intervention improves psychological outcomes and quality of life in patients with IRDs. The analysis included 102 patients with IRDs randomly assigned to receive the digital intervention or treatment as usual.

The researchers found that the intervention group had a significantly greater reduction in psychological distress at the three-month follow-up (least-squares mean difference, −3.60; Cohen d = −0.71) and a greater improvement for quality of life (least-squares mean difference, 0.04; Cohen d = 0.49). For psychological distress, a significantly greater number of participants in the intervention group experienced clinically meaningful improvement (59.2 versus 34.0 percent). Similar results were seen for quality of life (55.1 versus 32.0 percent) compared with the control group. A similar pattern was seen for secondary outcomes except for functional impairment. No intervention-related adverse events were seen.

“These findings suggest that such digital interventions could be a valuable, scalable approach to addressing mental health needs in rheumatology,” the authors write.

Several authors disclosed ties to relevant organizations.

Abstract/Full Text