The effect of cognitive-behavioral group therapy on depressive symptoms in people with type 2 diabetes: A randomized controlled clinical trial.
BACKGROUND
Diabetes mellitus is considered as the most common metabolic disorder. The patients with diabetes are likely to be affected by mental distress, especially depression. Nurses should pay attention to the psychological needs of depressive patients by participating in an application of non-pharmacological treatment such as cognitive-behavioral therapy. This study aimed to assess the effect of cognitive-behavioral group therapy on depression in patients with diabetes.


METHODS
This randomized controlled trial was performed in 2010 in the diabetes clinics affiliated to Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, southern Iran. In this study, 60 eligible patients suffering from depression were randomly divided into two groups by convenience sampling method, using random block allocation. The experimental group was randomly subdivided into three groups of 10 each and received eight sessions of cognitive-behavioral group therapy. The level of depression was checked before as well as 2 weeks, 4 weeks, and 2 months after the intervention in both groups. Glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) level was also checked before and 2 months after the intervention.


RESULTS
Both groups were demographically homogeneous with no statistically significant difference. The trend in depression scores before as well as 2 weeks, 4 weeks, and 2 months after the intervention was statistically significant in the experimental group (P ≤ 0.001), but not in the control group (P = 0.087). The results showed that HbA1c variation was statistically significant before and after the intervention in both groups (P ≤ 0.001). However, the mean variation of HbA1c was not statistically significant between the groups (P = 0.473).


CONCLUSIONS
Cognitive-behavioral group therapy was effective in reducing depression in patients with diabetes. Therefore, this method can be recommended for such patients.
Community Based Psychiatric Care Research Center, Department of Mental Health Nursing, Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
Farkhondeh
F
Sharif
Department of Mental Health Nursing, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
Maria
M
Masoudi
Department of Psychiatry, Research Center for Psychiatry and Behavior Sciences, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
Ahmad
A
Ghanizadeh
Endocrinology and Metabolism Research Center, Department of Internal Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
Mohammad Hossein
MH
Dabbaghmanesh
Department of Epidemiology, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
Haleh
H
Ghaem
Student Research Committee, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
Samira
S
Masoumi
Cognitive-behavior therapy; depression; diabetes; group