Interventions for negative symptoms in schizophrenia: efficacy and clinical interpretability in a meta-analysis of 451 randomized controlled trials

Negative symptoms (avolition, anhedonia, asociality, blunted affect, and alogia) are among the most disabling features of schizophrenia spectrum disorders. In the absence of treatment consensus guidelines, this PRISMA-compliant meta-analysis (PROSPERO: CRD42024613967) evaluated efficacy and clinical significance of interventions targeting this dimension. Web of Science/PsycInfo databases were searched from inception to December 2024. Five categories (antipsychotics, other pharmacological agents, brain stimulation, psychosocial, and lifestyle interventions) were analyzed across short/middle/long follow-up times. Categories were divided into 27 subcategories (e.g., ‘other pharmacological agents’ divided in 14 subcategories including antidepressants, antibiotics, immunomodulators) regardless of follow-up, assessing evidence with GRADE criteria. The primary outcome was the change in negative symptom severity, measured with validated scales (PANSS/SANS/BPRS/CAINS/BNSS) as standardized mean differences (SMD). A clinically meaningful SMD threshold was estimated from the regression between SMD and one-point reductions on the Clinical Global Impression-Severity (CGI-S) scale. This study meta-analyzed 451 trials (n = 42566). The clinically meaningful threshold, obtained from 122 trials reporting CGI-S, was SMD ≥ 0.457. In 214 high-quality studies (n = 19746), 2 category-by-follow-up combinations and 16 subcategories showed significant improvements. Clinically meaningful SMDs for subcategories were antibiotics (0.95; CI: 0.18–1.71; moderate-GRADE), integrated psychosocial interventions (0.93; CI: 0.53–1.33; very-low-GRADE), antidepressants (0.76; CI: 0.33–1.19; moderate-GRADE), physical activity (0.68; CI: 0.39–0.96; very-low-GRADE), transcranial current stimulation (0.52; CI: 0.17–0.86; low-GRADE), and immunomodulators (0.47; CI: 0.26–0.67; high-GRADE), typically as adjuncts to antipsychotics. Heterogeneity was the main limitation. While selected interventions may yield meaningful improvements, more rigorous designs are needed to identify reliable, personalized and scalable treatment options.