Brief cognitive behavioural intervention for depression and anxiety symptoms improves quality of life in chronic haemodialysis patients

Objectives Psychological treatment of depression in end-stage renal disease (ESRD) has focused on severely depressed patients. We designed and tested a brief (5 weeks) cognitive behavioural intervention (CBI) to reduce mild and moderate depression and anxiety symptoms in patients with ESRD. Design For the purpose of this study, a single-blind, randomized controlled design was used to compare patients with ESRD under haemodialysis treatment with and without the CBI. Methods Depression and anxiety symptoms were screened in 152 subjects (18–60 years old, 84 male). Sixty participants (age 41.8 ± 14.7, 29 males) with mild or moderate scores of depression (Beck Depression Inventory) and anxiety (Beck Anxiety Inventory) were randomly assigned to CBI or the control group. CBI techniques consisted of positive self-reinforcement, deep breathing, muscle relaxation, and cognitive restructuring. Depression, anxiety, quality of life (QoL), and cognitive distortion scores were evaluated at baseline, after 5 weeks (end of treatment) and after 4-week follow-up. All scores were compared by ANOVA for repeated measures with post-hoc tests adjusted by Bonferroni's method (p