Effect of cognitive-behavioral therapy on psychological stress and quality of life in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis / 中华全科医师杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To explore the effect of cognitive-behavioral therapy on psychological stress and quality of life in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis.Methods:According to two-level cluster random design 461 patients with tuberculosis from 20 communities in Pizhou county of Jiangsu province were selected in the study from September 2018 to November 2018. The intervention group received cognitive-behavioral therapy for two months, while control group received routine follow-up. Anxiety, depression and quality of life were assessed by GAD-7, PHQ-9 and SF-36 scales, respectively. At the same time, the comparison between the two groups was conducted by independent sample t test, and the difference between the two groups before and after treatment was analyzed by paired sample ttest. Results:A total of 454 participants were finally included in this analysis; there were 230 cases in the intervention group and 224 cases in the control group. In the intervention group the scores of anxiety and depression after intervention were significantly lower than the baseline scores [(7.57±5.27) vs. (5.93±2.56), t=-4.245, P<0.01; (8.13±6.01) vs. (6.02±2.67); t=-4.866, P<0.01], and the quality of life score was significantly higher than the baseline score [(58.46±12.71) vs. (74.31±13.22); t=13.108, P<0.01]; while in the control group there were no significant differences in the scores of anxiety, depression and quality of life after intervention, compared with those at baseline [(7.62±5.41) vs.(7.65±5.38); (8.00±5.84) vs. (8.07±5.91); (59.11±13.25) vs. (60.51±13.76); t=0.059, t=0.126, t=1.104, all P>0.05]. However, only for patients with mild and moderate anxiety and depression symptoms in the intervention group, the anxiety and depression scores were decreased after intervention [(7.29±1.21) vs. (5.54±1.71), (11.99±1.31) vs. (9.17±1.55); (7.01±1.47) vs. (4.42±1.22), (11.88±1.12) vs. (8.39±2.33); t=8.056, t=10.020, t=13.558, t=8.852,all P<0.01]. Conclusion:Cognitive-behavioral therapy can relieve the psychological pressure and improve the quality of life in pulmonary tuberculosis patients with mild or moderate anxiety/depression symptoms.