Article Text

Download PDFPDF
A stepped-care prevention programme decreased depression and anxiety disorders in elderly patients

Statistics from Altmetric.com

Request Permissions

If you wish to reuse any or all of this article please use the link below which will take you to the Copyright Clearance Center’s RightsLink service. You will be able to get a quick price and instant permission to reuse the content in many different ways.

Study design

Design:

randomised controlled trial. ISRCTN26474556.

Allocation:

{concealed}*.†

Blinding:

blinded (outcome assessors).*

Study question

Setting:

primary care practices in the northwestern Netherlands.

Patients:

170 general practice patients ⩾75 years of age (mean age 81 y, 74% women) who had Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) scores ⩾16 and did not meet DSM-IV criteria for depressive or anxiety disorder in the previous 12 months as measured by the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI). Patients with serious cognitive decline were excluded. All patients completed 3 months of watchful waiting, after which they completed a second CES-D questionnaire. Patients with scores ⩾16 underwent a diagnostic MINI. Patients with CES-D scores ⩾16 but who did not have a depressive or anxiety disorder were randomized.

Intervention:

stepped care (n = 86) or usual care (n = 84). Stepped-care patients progressed from watchful waiting through up to …

View Full Text

Footnotes

  • Source of funding: Netherlands Health Research Council (ZonMw).