title: Cognitive Behavioral Group Therapy Reduces Stress and Improves the Quality of Life in Patients with Parkinson's Disease.
abstract: Objective:The aim of this study is to compare a cognitive behavioral group therapy (CBT) with a health enhancement program (HEP) for stress reduction and the impact on quality of life (QoL) in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD).Method: Thirty patients with PD participated in the study: 16 received CBT including stress-reducing elements and 14 took part in a HEP. The two groups did not differ significantly in their baseline demographic characteristics. The patients in both groups underwent weekly sessions of 2 h duration for 9 weeks. TheParkinson's Disease Questionnairewith 39 items (PDQ-39), theBurden Questionnaire for Parkinson's Disease(translated from the original German:Belastungsfragebogen für Parkinsonpatienten(BELA) and theDisease-Related Questionnaire[Fragebogen zur krankheitsbezogenen Kommunikation(FKK)] were used for assessment. Ratings were completed at baseline and after 9 weeks (immediately after the last treatment session).Results: The patients in the CBT group achieved significantly better BELA, FKK and PDQ-39 scores (p< 0.05). Subscale analysis revealed that the scores on the BELA subscales "emotional well-being" and "somatic motor function" contributed significantly to stress reduction (p< 0.05). The FKK revealed significant improvement in social skills in the CBT group (p< 0.05).Conclusion: Cognitive Behavioral Group Therapy appears to be an effective way for patients with PD to lessen stress and improve their quality of life.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University Hospital of Basel Basel, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Anousha
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hadinia
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University Hospital of Basel Basel, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Antonia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Meyer
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University Hospital of Basel Basel, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Viviane
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Bruegger
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University Hospital of Basel Basel, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Florian
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Hatz
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University Hospital of Basel Basel, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Karolina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nowak
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, University Hospital of Basel Basel, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Ethan
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Taub
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital of Basel Basel, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Elisabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Nyberg
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital of BaselBasel, Switzerland; Department of Psychology, University of BaselBasel, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Rolf-Dieter
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Stieglitz
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University Hospital of Basel Basel, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Fuhr
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University Hospital of Basel Basel, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Ute
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Gschwandtner
keywords: Parkinson’s disease; cognitive behavioral group therapy; cognitive behavioral therapy; non-motor symptoms; quality of life; stress