Stress is a significant mental health concern for the general population, highlighting the need for effective and scalable solutions, such as mobile health (mHealth) app interventions. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to investigate the effects of mHealth apps designed primarily to reduce stress and distress in non-clinical and subclinical populations. A comprehensive literature search was conducted up to August 2024, including studies that measured both self-reported and physiological stress outcomes. 80 studies were analyzed. A small but significant effect size (g = 0.33) was found for self-reported stress outcomes, with studies that used specific active controls, operated in naturalistic contexts, and had a low risk of bias showing significantly lower effect sizes. A similarly small effect size was observed for physiological outcomes (g = 0.24). Notably, studies that employed muscle and breathing relaxation, meditation strategies, personalized guidance, experimental usage settings, and measured acute stress responses demonstrated significantly higher effect sizes. Further analysis of specific physiological systems revealed small effect sizes for autonomic (g = 0.32) and cardiac outcomes (g = 0.36). The significant effects observed across both psychological and physiological outcomes support the efficacy and potential of mHealth apps for the self-management of stress responses in the broader population.

中文翻译：

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基于应用程序的移动健康干预对压力管理的疗效：自我报告、生理和神经内分泌压力相关结果的系统评价和荟萃分析


压力是普通人群的一个重要心理健康问题，这凸显了对有效且可扩展的解决方案的需求，例如移动健康 （mHealth） 应用程序干预。本系统评价和荟萃分析旨在调查主要旨在减轻非临床和亚临床人群压力和痛苦的移动医疗应用程序的效果。截至 2024 年 8 月进行了全面的文献检索，包括测量自我报告和生理压力结果的研究。分析了 80 项研究。对于自我报告的压力结果，发现效应量较小但显著 （g = 0.33），使用特定主动对照、在自然背景下进行且偏倚风险低且偏倚风险低的研究显示效应量显着降低。在生理结局方面观察到类似的小效应量 （g = 0.24）。值得注意的是，采用肌肉和呼吸放松、冥想策略、个性化指导、实验使用设置和测量急性应激反应的研究显示，效应量明显更高。对特定生理系统的进一步分析显示，自主神经 （g = 0.32） 和心脏结局 （g = 0.36） 的效应量较小。在心理和生理结果中观察到的显著影响支持了移动医疗应用程序在更广泛人群中自我管理压力反应的有效性和潜力。