Psychiatry Investig.  2021 Oct;18(10):958-967. 10.30773/pi.2021.0209.

Psilocybin for End-of-Life Anxiety Symptoms: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Affiliations
  • 1Department of Pharmacy, Chang-Gung Memorial Hospital, Linkou, Taiwan
  • 2Department of Neurology, Tri-Service General Hospital, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, Taiwan
  • 3Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, Taiwan
  • 4Department of Psychiatry, Beitou Branch, Tri-Service General Hospital, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, Taiwan
  • 5Department of Psychiatry, Armed Forces Taoyuan General Hospital, Taoyuan, Taiwan
  • 6Graduate Institute of Health and Welfare Policy, National Yang Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan
  • 7WinShine Clinics in Specialty of Psychiatry, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
  • 8Physiotherapy Department, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
  • 9Department of Psychological Medicine, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience (IoPPN), King’s College London, De Crespigny Park, London, UK
  • 10Positive Ageing Research Institute (PARI), Faculty of Health, Social Care and Education, Anglia Ruskin University, Chelmsford, UK
  • 11Department of Psychiatry, Tri-Service General Hospital, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, Taiwan
  • 12Department of Psychiatry, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
  • 13Department of Addiction Science, Kaohsiung Municipal Kai-Syuan Psychiatric Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
  • 14Department of Nursing, Meiho University, Pingtung, Taiwan

Abstract


Objective
To systematically examine the effectiveness and tolerability of psilocybin for treating end-of-life anxiety symptoms.
Methods
The Medline, Embase, CENTRAL, and PsycINFO databases were searched up to November 25, 2020. We enrolled clinical trials investigating psilocybin for treating end-of-life anxiety symptoms. Meta-analysis was conducted using random-effects model.
Results
Overall, five studies were included, revealing that psilocybin was superior to the placebo in treating state anxiety at 1 day (Hedges’ g, -0.70; 95% confidence interval, -1.01 to -0.39) and 2 weeks (-1.03; -1.47 to -0.60) after treatment. Psilocybin was more effective than placebo in treating trait anxiety at 1 day (-0.71; -1.15 to -0.26), 2 weeks (-1.08; -1.80 to -0.36), and 6 months (-0.84; -1.37 to -0.30) after treatment. Psilocybin was associated with transient elevation in systolic (19.00; 13.58–24.41 mm Hg) and diastolic (8.66; 5.18–12.15 mm Hg) blood pressure compared with placebo. The differences between psilocybin and placebo groups with regard to allcause discontinuation, serious adverse events, and heart rates were nonsignificant.
Conclusion
Psilocybin-assisted therapy could ameliorate end-of-life anxiety symptoms without serious adverse events. Because of the small sample sizes of the included studies and high heterogeneity on long-term outcomes, future randomized controlled trials with large sample sizes are needed.

Keyword

Psilocybin; End-of-life anxiety; Life-threatening disease; Meta-analysis; Cancer
Full Text Links
  • PI
Actions
Cited
CITED
export Copy
Close
Share
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
Similar articles
Copyright © 2024 by Korean Association of Medical Journal Editors. All rights reserved.     E-mail: koreamed@kamje.or.kr