A lifestyle-educational program improves depression levels of those with autoimmune disease

Abstract

Abstract Background Patients with autoimmunity may have problems with depression. We explore the severity of depression among this population. Methods Participants that started and finished an 8 week depression educational program were studied. From n=5,861 participants from 5 continents, n=431 suffered from autoimmune disease and were used for the study. The program consisted of 2-hour long weekly meetings which occurred for a total of eight weeks. During each meeting, a 45-minute DVD presentation by a skilled physician was shown, a small group discussion was guided by trained facilitators. The focus of the program was to educate participants about healthy lifestyle behaviors such as exercise, nutrition, sleep hygiene, etc. The participants were assessed pre-post with the Depression and Anxiety Assessment Test that measured depression and demographics. Depression scores were classified into 4 categories: none (0–6), mild (7–10), moderate (11–19) or severe (20 or more). Results At baseline the average age was 54.9 (SD 13.3) and 85.4% were female. At baseline, mean group depression was 14.2 (SD 7.4), the depression levels were as follows: none (17.2%), mild (18.3%), moderate (34.3%), severe (30.1%). After the lifestyle-educational program, mean group depression decreased to 7.8 (SD 6.2). Post-program depression levels were as follows: none (51.97%), mild (17.6%), moderate (24.36%), severe (6.03%). The decrease in depression levels was significant with t(431) = −21.19 p <.01. Conclusions The eight-week educational program was effective in improving depression levels for most of the participants with autoimmune disease. A follow up study is being planned to see if the results last long term.