The effectiveness of interpersonal psychotherapy versus cognitive behavioural therapy for eating disorders: A systematic review and meta-analysis

ObjectiveInterpersonal psychotherapy (IPT) has been proposed as a treatment strategy for eating disorders (EDs). However, cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is the treatment more widely used than IPT.MethodOur study aimed to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in order to compare the effectiveness of IPT with CBT in treating eating disorders (EDs). To achieve this goal, we conducted a comprehensive search on PubMed, Embase, Medline, Cochrane, Web of Science, and the Clinical Trials Database for RCTs that compared the effectiveness of IPT with CBT in treating EDs.ResultsAfter reviewing 468 potential studies, we selected 10 suitable for our meta-analysis, which included 833 participants. Results showed that both IPT and CBT had similar effects on the primary outcome measure (i.e., ED score) (SMD = 0.08). However, IPT had a more significant effect on the secondary outcome measure (i.e., Inventory of Interpersonal Problems) (SMD = 0.32) compared to CBT. Additionally, IPT had a better treatment effect for individuals with EDs who had a lower body mass index (SMD = 0.27) and were younger (SMD = 0.43) than those receiving CBT. Both IPT and CBT demonstrated follow-up effects at pretest and after follow-up periods of less than 6 months (SMD = 1.61, 1.83), between 6 and 12 months (SMD = 1.48, 1.65), and greater than 12 months (SMD = 1.29, 1.33). However, only CBT demonstrated a dose-response relationship trend (beta = 0.017, p = 0.067).ConclusionsThe meta-analysis yielded compelling evidence that IPT is an effective treatment for individuals with EDs. However, the review highlights the need for future research to further elucidate the effects of IPT on ED treatment.