Abstract
BackgroundThe prevalence of depressive and anxiety symptoms in patients with COVID-19 is higher than usual. Previous studies have shown that there are drug-to-drug interactions between antiretroviral drugs and antidepressants. Therefore, an effective and safe treatment method was needed. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is the first-line psychological therapy in clinical treatment. Computerized CBT (cCBT) was proven to be an effective alternative to CBT and does not require face-to-face therapy between a therapist and the patient, which suited the COVID-19 pandemic response.ObjectiveThis study aims to evaluate the efficacy of the cCBT program we developed in improving depressive and anxiety symptoms among patients with COVID-19.MethodsWe customized a cCBT program focused on improving depressive and anxiety symptoms among patients with COVID-19, and then, we assessed its effectiveness. Screening was based on symptoms of depression or anxiety for patients who scored ≥7 on the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD17) or the Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAMA). A total of 252 patients with COVID-19 at five sites were randomized into two groups: cCBT + treatment as usual (TAU; n=126) and TAU without cCBT (n=126). The cCBT + TAU group received the cCBT intervention program for 1 week. The primary efficacy measures were the HAMD17 and HAMA scores. The secondary outcome measures were the Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS), Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS), and Athens Insomnia Scale (AIS). Assessments were carried out pre- and postintervention. The patients’ symptoms of anxiety and depression in one of the centers were assessed again within 1 month after the postintervention assessment.ResultsThe cCBT + TAU group displayed a significantly decreased score on the HAMD17, HAMA, SDS, SAS, and AIS after the intervention compared to the TAU group (all P<.001). A mixed-effects repeated measures model revealed significant improvement in symptoms of depression (HAMD17 and SDS scores, both P<.001), anxiety (HAMA and SAS scores, both P<.001), and insomnia (AIS score, P=.002) during the postintervention and follow-up periods in the cCBT + TAU group. Additionally, the improvement of insomnia among females (P=.14) and those with middle school education (P=.48) in the cCBT + TAU group showed no significant differences when compared to the TAU group.ConclusionsThe findings of this study suggest that the cCBT program we developed was an effective nonpharmacological treatment for symptoms of anxiety, depression, and insomnia among patients with COVID-19. Further research is warranted to investigate the long-term effects of cCBT for symptoms of anxiety, depression, and insomnia in patients with COVID-19.Trial RegistrationChinese Clinical Trial Registry ChiCTR2000030084; http://www.chictr.org.cn/showprojen.aspx?proj=49952
Highlights
In the past decades, the effects of physical and psychological distress have increased with each successive public health emergency, such as with the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in 2003 [1], the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) [2] in 2012, the Ebola virus disease in 2014 [3], and COVID-19 in 2020 [4]
The findings of this study suggest that the Computerized CBT (cCBT) program we developed was an effective nonpharmacological treatment for symptoms of anxiety, depression, and insomnia among patients with COVID-19
Patients were randomly allocated to a 1-week course of the cCBT program we developed in addition to treatment as usual (TAU), or they were randomly allocated to the control condition, the TAU group, when they completed the baseline assessment
Summary
The effects of physical and psychological distress have increased with each successive public health emergency, such as with the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in 2003 [1], the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) [2] in 2012, the Ebola virus disease in 2014 [3], and COVID-19 in 2020 [4]. In the acute stage of SARS and MERS, the prevalence of psychological distress among confirmed patients was 63.0%; common symptoms included insomnia (41.9%), anxiety (35.7%), and depression (32.6%) [10]. A cross-sectional study on psychological distress in patients with COVID-19 showed that the prevalence of symptoms of depression and anxiety was 35.9% and 38.5%, respectively [11]. The prevalence of depressive and anxiety symptoms in patients with COVID-19 is higher than usual. Computerized CBT (cCBT) was proven to be an effective alternative to CBT and does not require face-to-face therapy between a therapist and the patient, which suited the COVID-19 pandemic response
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