COPD patients who have anxiety and are unable to exercise may benefit from cognitive behavioural therapy, TSANZSRS 2018 delegates were told.
CBT, an umbrella term for a group of psychological interventions that facilitate people to reframe their thinking, is recommended for treating anxiety, depression and phobias.
Now a growing body of evidence suggests it’s effective for treating anxiety in COPD patients, in whom the condition is prevalent with one systematic review putting it as high as 36%.
Dr Marie Williams, Associate Head of Research in the School of Health Sciences at the University of South Australia, told the conference there were about 20 randomised controlled trials exploring the use of CBT in COPD.
The studies show CBT gives consistent improvements in anxiety – and less consistent results for depression – when compared to standard medical treatment.
But results are less clear cut when CBT is compared to an active intervention, such as education or exercise programs.
In this case “about half show improvement in anxiety or depression for the CBT intervention compared to the other intervention,” Dr Williams told the limbic.