Analysis of health-related quality of life and costs based on a randomised clinical trial of escitalopram for relapse prevention in patients with generalised social anxiety disorder

Quality of Life Assessment in Antidepressant Treatment of Patients with Depression and/or Anxiety Disorder

Introduction:

The concept of quality of life (QoL) is becoming an increasingly important criterion in the assessment of treatment outcomes, health outcomes and in the assessment of the benefit-to-load ratio of drugs or therapies that have equivalent mechanisms of action.

Aim:

The aim of the study was to evaluate the improvement of quality of life, tolerability of therapy and patient compliance in patients with depression and/or anxiety disorder treated with antidepressants.

Methods:

The study was designed as a clinical, multicenter, prospective, cohort study involving 682 patients of both sexes diagnosed with depression and/or anxiety disorder observed over the 9 months period. The study was conducted from January to December 2017 in six research centers of the PI Health Center of the Canton of Sarajevo. The patients were divided into three groups: depressive, anxious and mixed anxiety-depressive disorder, and the therapy administered was, paroxetine or escitalopram. MOS (Medical Outcomes Study) sleep scale and Q-LES-Q-SF (Quality of Life Enjoyment and Satisfaction Questionnaire-Short Form) scale were used for quality of life evaluation. Patients were observed six times over the course of the study.

Results:

The results of the MOS questionnaire showed that more than 90 percent of patients with depression and/or anxiety disorder who had taken fluoxetine, paroxetine or escitalopram for 36 weeks experienced an improvement in the sleep problem index. Sleep duration was greatly improved in all patients regardless of the antidepressants used. The results of the Q-LES-Q-SF questionnaire showed a significant improvement in quality of life as well as overall pleasure and satisfaction with life due to the use of antidepressants.

Conclusion:

Therapy with fluoxetine, paroxetine and escitalopram leads to a significant improvement of all recorded parameters, along with the overall quality of life, which makes them very effective in the treatment of depression and/or anxiety disorders.

Risk of relapse after antidepressant discontinuation in anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder: systematic review and meta-analysis of relapse prevention trials

Objectives To examine the risk of relapse and time to relapse after discontinuation of antidepressants in patients with anxiety disorder who responded to antidepressants, and to explore whether relapse risk is related to type of anxiety disorder, type of antidepressant, mode of discontinuation, duration of treatment and follow-up, comorbidity, and allowance of psychotherapy.Design Systematic review and meta-analyses of relapse prevention trials.Data sources PubMed, Cochrane, Embase, and clinical trial registers (from inception to July 2016).Study selection Eligible studies included patients with anxiety disorder who responded to antidepressants, randomised patients double blind to either continuing antidepressants or switching to placebo, and compared relapse rates or time to relapse.Data extraction Two independent raters selected studies and extracted data. Random effect models were used to estimate odds ratios for relapse, hazard ratios for time to relapse, and relapse prevalence per group. The effect of various categorical and continuous variables was explored with subgroup analyses and meta-regression analyses respectively. Bias was assessed using the Cochrane tool.Results The meta-analysis included 28 studies (n=5233) examining relapse with a maximum follow-up of one year. Across studies, risk of bias was considered low. Discontinuation increased the odds of relapse compared with continuing antidepressants (summary odds ratio 3.11, 95% confidence interval 2.48 to 3.89). Subgroup analyses and meta-regression analyses showed no statistical significance. Time to relapse (n=3002) was shorter when antidepressants were discontinued (summary hazard ratio 3.63, 2.58 to 5.10; n=11 studies). Summary relapse prevalences were 36.4% (30.8% to 42.1%; n=28 studies) for the placebo group and 16.4% (12.6% to 20.1%; n=28 studies) for the antidepressant group, but prevalence varied considerably across studies, most likely owing to differences in the length of follow-up. Dropout was higher in the placebo group (summary odds ratio 1.31, 1.06 to 1.63; n=27 studies).Conclusions Up to one year of follow-up, discontinuation of antidepressant treatment results in higher relapse rates among responders compared with treatment continuation. The lack of evidence after a one year period should not be interpreted as explicit advice to discontinue antidepressants after one year. Given the chronicity of anxiety disorders, treatment should be directed by long term considerations, including relapse prevalence, side effects, and patients' preferences.

The validity of the SF-12 and SF-6D instruments in people living with HIV/AIDS in Kenya

Background

Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and health state utility value (HSUV) measurements are vital components of healthcare clinical and economic evaluations. Accurate measurement of HSUV and HRQoL require validated instruments. The 12-item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-12) is one of few instruments that can evaluate both HRQoL and HSUV, but its validity has not been assessed in people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) in east Africa, where the burden of HIV is high.

Methods

This cross-sectional study used baseline data from a randomized trial involving PLWHA in Kenya. Data included responses from a translated and adapted SF-12 survey as well as key demographic and clinical data. Construct validity of the survey was examined by testing the SF-12’s ability to distinguish between groups known in advance to have differences in their health based on their disease severity. We classified disease severity based on established definitions from the US Center for Disease Control (CDC) and WHO, as well as a previously studied viral load threshold. T-tests and ANOVA were used to test for differences in HRQoL and HSUV scores. Area under the receive operator curve (AUC) was used to test the discriminative ability of the HRQoL and HSUV instruments.

Results

Differences in physical component scores met the minimum clinically important difference among participants with more advanced HIV when defined by CD4 count (4.3 units) and WHO criteria (compared to stage 1, stages 2, 3 and 4 were 2.0, 7.2 and 9.8 units lower respectively). Mental score differences met the minimum clinically important difference between WHO stage 1 and stage 4 patients (4.4). Differences in the HSUV were statistically lower in more advanced HIV by all three definitions of severity. The AUC showed poor to weak discriminatory ability in most analyses, but had fair discriminatory ability between WHO clinical stage 1 and clinical stage 4 individuals (AUC = 0.71).

Conclusion

Our findings suggest that the Kiswahili translated and adapted version of the SF-12 could be used as an assessment tool for physical health, mental health and HSUV for Kiswahili-speaking PLHWA.

Trial registration

Clinical trials.gov identifier: NCT00830622. Registered 26 January 2009.

The Cost Effectiveness of Psychological and Pharmacological Interventions for Social Anxiety Disorder: A Model-Based Economic Analysis

Background

Social anxiety disorder is one of the most persistent and common anxiety disorders. Individually delivered psychological therapies are the most effective treatment options for adults with social anxiety disorder, but they are associated with high intervention costs. Therefore, the objective of this study was to assess the relative cost effectiveness of a variety of psychological and pharmacological interventions for adults with social anxiety disorder.

Methods

A decision-analytic model was constructed to compare costs and quality adjusted life years (QALYs) of 28 interventions for social anxiety disorder from the perspective of the British National Health Service and personal social services. Efficacy data were derived from a systematic review and network meta-analysis. Other model input parameters were based on published literature and national sources, supplemented by expert opinion.

Results

Individual cognitive therapy was the most cost-effective intervention for adults with social anxiety disorder, followed by generic individual cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), phenelzine and book-based self-help without support. Other drugs, group-based psychological interventions and other individually delivered psychological interventions were less cost-effective. Results were influenced by limited evidence suggesting superiority of psychological interventions over drugs in retaining long-term effects. The analysis did not take into account side effects of drugs.

Conclusion

Various forms of individually delivered CBT appear to be the most cost-effective options for the treatment of adults with social anxiety disorder. Consideration of side effects of drugs would only strengthen this conclusion, as it would improve even further the cost effectiveness of individually delivered CBT relative to phenelzine, which was the next most cost-effective option, due to the serious side effects associated with phenelzine. Further research needs to determine more accurately the long-term comparative benefits and harms of psychological and pharmacological interventions for social anxiety disorder and establish their relative cost effectiveness with greater certainty.

Evidence-based pharmacological treatment of anxiety disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder: a revision of the 2005 guidelines from the British Association for Psychopharmacology

This revision of the 2005 British Association for Psychopharmacology guidelines for the evidence-based pharmacological treatment of anxiety disorders provides an update on key steps in diagnosis and clinical management, including recognition, acute treatment, longer-term treatment, combination treatment, and further approaches for patients who have not responded to first-line interventions. A consensus meeting involving international experts in anxiety disorders reviewed the main subject areas and considered the strength of supporting evidence and its clinical implications. The guidelines are based on available evidence, were constructed after extensive feedback from participants, and are presented as recommendations to aid clinical decision-making in primary, secondary and tertiary medical care. They may also serve as a source of information for patients, their carers, and medicines management and formulary committees.

The Effect of Sertraline on the Quality of Life for Children and Adolescents with Anxiety Disorder

INTRODUCTION

In this study, we aimed to determine the changes in quality of life of children/adolescents with anxiety disorders during six months of sertraline treatment, to investigate parent-child/adolescent concordance in perception of quality of life and to examine the effect of treatment on children/adolescents.

METHODS

In this study, 30 patients with anxiety disorders according to criteria specified in Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4^th. Edition (DSM-IV) were assigned to sertraline treatment. The patients were evaluated using the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL), State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children, Clinical Global Impression Scale (CGI) and the Children's Global Assessment Scale (CGAS) at 0th, 2^nd and 6^th months.

RESULTS

PedsQL total scores increased significantly with the treatment in children and adolescents (p<.001), however, no differences were observed in parent proxy report (p=.326). The mean CGAS score was 59.85±7.73 at the beginning of treatment and 73.70±7.01 at the end of treatment (p<.001). The average CGI score decreased from 4.68±.96 to 2.27±.84.

CONCLUSION

It was observed that perception of quality of life in children and adolescents with anxiety disorders increased with the treatment.

The estimation of utility weights in cost-utility analysis for mental disorders: a systematic review

OBJECTIVE

To systematically review approaches and instruments used to derive utility weights in cost-utility analyses (CUAs) within the field of mental disorders and to identify factors that may have influenced the choice of the approach.

METHODS

We searched the databases DARE (Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects), NHS EED (National Health Service Economic Evaluation Database), HTA (Health Technology Assessment), and PubMed for CUAs. Studies were included if they were full economic evaluations and reported quality-adjusted life-years as the health outcome. Study characteristics and instruments used to estimate utility weights were described and a logistic regression analysis was conducted to identify factors associated with the choice of either the direct (e.g. standard gamble) or the preference-based measure (PBM) approach (e.g. EQ-5D).

RESULTS

We identified 227 CUAs with a maximum in 2009, 2010, and 2012. Most CUAs were conducted in depression, dementia, or psychosis, and came from the US or the UK, with the EQ-5D being the most frequently used instrument. The application of the direct approach was significantly associated with depression, psychosis, and model-based studies. The PBM approach was more likely to be used in recent studies, dementia, Europe, and empirical studies. Utility weights used in model-based studies were derived from only a small number of studies.

LIMITATIONS

We only searched four databases and did not evaluate the quality of the included studies.

CONCLUSIONS

Direct instruments and PBMs are used to elicit utility weights in CUAs with different frequencies regarding study type, mental disorder, and country.

Effect of pharmacotherapy for anxiety disorders on quality of life: a meta-analysis

PURPOSE

Pharmacotherapy is an effective treatment for anxiety disorders, but its effects on quality of life (QOL) have not been examined systematically. Our objective was to conduct an effect size analysis of pharmacological interventions on QOL outcomes in patients with DSM-IV anxiety disorders.

METHODS

Manual and electronic searches using PubMed, PsycINFO, and the Cochrane Library were conducted for records from the first available date through May 1, 2013 for trials of pharmacological interventions in patients with anxiety disorders, which had measures of QOL before and after treatment. Of 1,865 entries, 93 studies were identified as potentially relevant and 32 met inclusion criteria, of which results were examined from 22 studies reporting 27 distinct pharmacological trials, representing data from 4,344 anxiety disorder patients. Data were extracted independently by multiple observers to estimate within-group and placebo-controlled random effects of the treatment changes on QOL. We hypothesized that pharmacotherapy improves QOL, which is associated with improvement in anxiety symptoms.

RESULTS

Pharmacological interventions effectively improved QOL from before to after treatment (Hedges' g = 0.59), although the controlled effect size is smaller among those trials with placebo interventions (Hedges' g = 0.32). These effect sizes were robust, increased with publication year, and increased with reductions in anxiety symptoms.

CONCLUSIONS

Pharmacological therapy is effective for improving QOL in anxiety disorders, and larger symptom reductions are associated with greater improvement in QOL.

Why do some promising brain-stimulation devices fail the next steps of clinical development?

Interest in techniques of noninvasive brain stimulation (NIBS) has been growing exponentially in the last decade. Recent studies have shown that some of these techniques induce significant neurophysiological and clinical effects. Although recent results are promising, there are several techniques that have been abandoned despite positive initial results. In this study, we performed a systematic review to identify NIBS methods with promising preliminary clinical results that were not fully developed and adopted into clinical practice, and discuss its clinical, research and device characteristics. We identified five devices (transmeatal cochlear laser stimulation, transcranial micropolarization, transcranial electrostimulation, cranial electric stimulation and stimulation with weak electromagnetic fields) and compared them with two established NIBS devices (transcranial magnetic stimulation and transcranial direct current stimulation) and with well-known drugs used in neuropsychiatry (pramipexole and escitalopram) in order to understand the reasons why they failed to reach clinical practice and further steps of research development. Finally, we also discuss novel NIBS devices that have recently showed promising results: brain ultrasound and transcranial high-frequency random noise stimulation. Our results show that some of the reasons for the failure of NIBS devices with promising clinical findings are the difficulty to disseminate results, lack of controlled studies, duration of research development, mixed results and lack of standardization.