Nasiri Farzad, Mashhadi Ali, Bigdeli Imanollah, Chamanabad Ali Ghanaei, Ellard Kristen K
Department of Psychology, Faculty of Educational Sciences and Psychology, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran.
Department of Psychology, Faculty of Educational Sciences and Psychology, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran.
J Affect Disord. 2020 Feb 1;262:405-413. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2019.11.064. Epub 2019 Nov 11.
The aim of the current study was to compare the Unified Protocol for Transdiagnostic Treatment of Emotional Disorders (UP) with and without transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) in individuals suffering from generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and comorbid depression.
A total of 43 individuals diagnosed with GAD and comorbid depression enrolled in a randomized controlled trial (IRCT20140929019334N1). Participants were randomly assigned to three groups including UP with tDCS (UP+tDCS; n = 15), UP alone (UP; n = 13) or wait-list control (n = 15). GAD and depression symptoms, worry severity, anxiety sensitivity, and intolerance of uncertainty were assessed at baseline, post-treatment and 3-month follow-up.
Treatment with both UP+tDCS and UP alone resulted in significant lower ratings across all measures relative to wait-list controls at post-treatment and 3-month follow-up (all p-values <0.001). UP+tDCS showed significantly greater reductions in anxiety (p = 0.001 post-treatment; p = 0.003 follow-up), worry (p = 0.001 post-treatment; p = 0.002 follow-up), and anxiety sensitivity (p = 0.003 post-treatment; p = 0.002 follow-up) relative to UP alone.
The present study had some limitations. First, the sample size was low. Another limitation was the use of a short-term follow-up.
These results suggest augmenting UP treatment with tDCS may be an efficacious strategy to improve treatment outcomes in GAD with comorbid depression. Trial registration reference is IRCT20140929019334N1 (see https://irct.ir/trial/27988).
本研究的目的是比较患有广泛性焦虑症（GAD）和共病抑郁症的个体接受有和没有经颅直流电刺激（tDCS）的情绪障碍跨诊断治疗统一方案（UP）的效果。
共有43名被诊断为GAD和共病抑郁症的个体参加了一项随机对照试验（IRCT20140929019334N1）。参与者被随机分为三组，包括UP联合tDCS组（UP + tDCS；n = 15）、单纯UP组（UP；n = 13）或等待列表对照组（n = 15）。在基线、治疗后和3个月随访时评估GAD和抑郁症状、担忧严重程度、焦虑敏感性和不确定性不耐受性。
与等待列表对照组相比，UP + tDCS组和单纯UP组在治疗后和3个月随访时所有测量指标的评分均显著降低（所有p值<0.001）。与单纯UP组相比，UP + tDCS组在焦虑（治疗后p = 0.001；随访p = 0.003）、担忧（治疗后p = 0.001；随访p = 0.002）和焦虑敏感性（治疗后p = 0.003；随访p = 0.002）方面的降低幅度显著更大。
本研究存在一些局限性。首先，样本量较小。另一个局限性是采用了短期随访。
这些结果表明，用tDCS增强UP治疗可能是改善共病抑郁症的GAD治疗效果的有效策略。试验注册编号为IRCT20140929019334N1（见https://irct.ir/trial/27988）。
