Long-term relapse rates after cognitive behaviour therapy for anxiety and depressive disorders among older adults: A follow-up study during COVID-19

Carly J Johnco; Jessamine T H Chen; Courtney Muir; Paul Strutt; Piers Dawes; Joyce Siette; Cintia Botelha Dias; Heidi Hillebrandt; Olivia Maurice; Viviana M Wuthrich

doi:10.1111/ajag.12928

Long-term relapse rates after cognitive behaviour therapy for anxiety and depressive disorders among older adults: A follow-up study during COVID-19

Australas J Ageing. 2021 Jun;40(2):208-212. doi: 10.1111/ajag.12928. Epub 2021 Mar 9.

Authors

Carly J Johnco^{1

2}, Jessamine T H Chen^{1

2}, Courtney Muir^{1

2}, Paul Strutt^{1

3}, Piers Dawes^{1

4}, Joyce Siette^{1

5}, Cintia Botelha Dias^{1

6

7}, Heidi Hillebrandt^{1

6}, Olivia Maurice¹, Viviana M Wuthrich^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Centre for Ageing, Cognition and Wellbeing, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
² Centre for Emotional Health, Department of Psychology, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
³ Department of Cognitive Science, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
⁴ Department of Linguistics, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
⁵ Centre for Health Systems and Safety Research, Australian Institute of Health Innovation, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
⁶ Department of Biomedical Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
⁷ Nutraceuticals Research Program, Faculty of Health and Medicine, University of Newcastle, Newcastle, NSW, Australia.

Abstract

Objective: This study assessed the long-term symptom relapse rates among older adults previously treated with cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) for anxiety and/or depression during COVID-19.

Methods: Participants were 37 older adults (M = 75 years, SD = 5; 65% female) previously treated with CBT for anxiety and/or unipolar depression who were re-assessed an average of 5.6 years later, during the first Australian COVID-19 lockdown.

Results: On average, there was no significant group-level change in anxiety, depression or quality of life. When assessing change in symptoms based on clinical cut-off points on self-report measures, results suggest only 17%-22% showed a relapse of symptoms by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Conclusions: Findings suggest that CBT may be protective in coping with life stressors many years after treatment ends. However, results warrant replication to attribute continued symptom improvement to CBT given the lack of control group.

Keywords: COVID-19; anxiety; cognitive behavioral therapy; depression; frail older adults; geriatrics; treatment.

MeSH terms

Aged
Anxiety / diagnosis
Anxiety / therapy
Australia
COVID-19*
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy*
Communicable Disease Control
Depressive Disorder*
Female
Follow-Up Studies
Humans
Male
Pandemics
Quality of Life
Recurrence
SARS-CoV-2
Treatment Outcome