Capobianco, L., Faija, C., Husain, Z., & Wells, A. (2020). Metacognitive beliefs and their relationship with anxiety and depression in physical illnesses: A systematic review. PloS one, 15(9), e0238457.
Background: Anxiety and depression are common among patients with chronic physical illnesses and have a significant impact on morbidity, quality of life, and health service utilisation. Psychological treatment of anxiety and depression has small to moderate efficacy in this group and is not commonly based on a model of causal mechanisms. A novel approach to understanding and improving mental health outcomes in physical illnesses is needed. One approach may be to explore the role of metacognitive beliefs which are reliably associated with anxiety and depression in individuals with mental health difficulties.