The effects of cognitive bias modification for attention and interpretation on the postoperative psychological resilience and quality of life of patients with pituitary adenoma: a randomized trial.

Abstract

Negative emotions such as anxiety and depression may have a bearing on patients' psychological resilience and quality of life (QoL) following surgery. Cognitive bias modification (CBM) for attention and interpretation has been confirmed to alleviate anxiety and depression. However, the psychological effects of CBM attention and interpretation on Chinese patients with pituitary adenoma have hardly received research attention. This prospective interventional study enrolled 100 patients undergoing surgical treatment for pituitary adenoma. Participants were divided into an experimental group and a control group, with 50 cases in each group. Baseline characteristics of included patients were collected. Patients in the control group were given routine training, and those in experimental group received routine training plus CBM attention and interpretation training. The Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC) was used to assess patients' psychological resilience. The patients' levels of anxiety and depression were assessed using the Self-rating Anxiety Scale (SAS) and Self-rating Depression Scale (SDS). QoL was assessed based on the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer QoL Questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-C30). No statistical difference was found between the 2 groups in CD-RISC, SAS, SDS, or QoL score at baseline (P>0.05). After CBM training, psychological resilience and QoL in the experimental group improved, and the levels of anxiety and depression decreased (P<0.05). Furthermore, the experimental group showed statistically superior psychological resilience and QoL than the control group. The levels of anxiety and depression in the experimental group were statistically lower than those in the control group (P<0.05). CBM for attention and interpretation effectively improves the psychological resilience of patients and reduces the symptoms of anxiety and depression, thus improving patients' postoperative QoL. Chinese Clinical Trial Registry Identifier: ChiCTR2100045899.