Internet Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Depression in Older Adults With Knee Osteoarthritis: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the efficacy of an internet-based cognitive-behavioral therapy (iCBT) program for depression in older adults with osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee and comorbid major depressive disorder (MDD). METHODS: We conducted a randomized controlled trial in 69 adults (ages ≥50 years) meeting criteria for MDD and OA of the knee with 1-week postintervention (week 11) and 3-month followup (week 24) end points. Patients were allocated to either a 10-week iCBT program for depression added to treatment as usual (TAU) or to a TAU control group. Primary outcomes were depression symptoms (9-Item Patient Health Questionnaire [PHQ-9]) and psychological distress (Kessler-10 [K-10]). Secondary outcomes included arthritis self-efficacy (Arthritis Self-Efficacy Scale [ASES]), OA pain, stiffness, physical function (Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index [WOMAC]), and physical and mental health (Short Form 12-Item health survey physical component and mental component summaries). Depression status was assessed by blinded diagnostic interview (the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview) at intake and followup. RESULTS: Intent-to-treat analyses indicated between-group superiority of iCBT over TAU on the primary outcomes (PHQ-9: Hedges g = 1.01, 95% confidence interval [95% CI] 0.47, 1.54; K-10: Hedges g = 0.75, 95% CI 0.23, 1.28), at postintervention and 3-month followup (PHQ-9: Hedges g = 0.90, 95% CI 0.36, 1.44; K-10: Hedges g = 0.94, 95% CI 0.41, 1.48), and on secondary OA-specific measures (ASES: Hedges g = -0.81, 95% CI -0.29, -1.33; WOMAC: Hedges g = 0.56-0.65, 95% CI 0.04, 1.18) at the 3-month followup. The majority of iCBT participants (84%) no longer met diagnostic criteria at 3-month followup. CONCLUSION: Results support the efficacy of an iCBT program (requiring no face-to-face contact) for depression in individuals with comorbid depression and OA of the knee. Importantly, the benefits of the program extended beyond reduced depressive symptoms and distress to include increased self-efficacy and improved pain, stiffness, and physical function at followup.

Help from home for depression: A randomised controlled trial comparing internet-delivered cognitive behaviour therapy with bibliotherapy for depression.

Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is a leading cause of the Global Burden of Disease. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is an effective treatment for MDD, but access can be impaired due to numerous barriers. Internet-delivered CBT (iCBT) can be utilised to overcome treatment barriers and is an effective treatment for depression, but has never been compared to bibliotherapy. This Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT) included participants meeting diagnostic criteria for MDD (n = 270) being randomised to either: iCBT (n = 61), a CBT self-help book (bCBT) (n = 77), a meditation self-help book (bMED) (n = 64) or wait-list control (WLC) (n = 68). The primary outcome was the Patient Health Questionnaire 9-item scale (PHQ-9) at 12-weeks (post-treatment). All three active interventions were significantly more effective than WLC in reducing depression at post-treatment, but there were no significant differences between the groups. All three interventions led to large within-group reductions in PHQ-9 scores at post-treatment (g = 0.88-1.69), which were maintained at 3-month follow-up, although there was some evidence of relapse in the bMED group (within-group g [post to follow-up] = 0.09-1.04). Self-help based interventions could be beneficial in treating depression, however vigilance needs to be applied when selecting from the range of materials available. Replication of this study with a larger sample is required.