Responsiveness to change in health status of the EQ-5D in patients treated for depression and anxiety.

BACKGROUND: The EQ-5D is a commonly used generic measure of health but evidence on its responsiveness to change in mental health is limited. This study aimed to explore the responsiveness of the five-level version of the instrument, the EQ-5D-5 L, in patients receiving treatment for depression and anxiety. METHODS: Patient data (N = 416) were collected at baseline and at end of treatment in an observational study in a Norwegian outpatient clinic. Patients were adults of working age (18-69 years) and received protocol-based metacognitive or cognitive therapy for depression or anxiety according to diagnosis. Responsiveness in the EQ-5D was compared to change in the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) and the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI). Effect sizes (Cohen's d), Standardised response mean (SRM), and Pearson's correlation were calculated. Patients were classified as "Recovered", "Improved", or "Unchanged" during treatment using the BDI-II and the BAI. ROC analyses determined whether the EQ-5D could correctly classify patient outcomes. RESULTS: Effect sizes were large for the BAI, the BDI-II, the EQ-5D value and the EQ VAS, ranging from d = 1.07 to d = 1.84. SRM were also large (0.93-1.67). Pearson's correlation showed strong agreement between change scores of the EQ-5D value and the BDI-II (rs -0.54) and moderate between the EQ-5D value and the BAI (rs -0.43). The EQ-5D consistently identified "Recovered" patients versus "Improved" or "Unchanged" in the ROC analyses with AUROC ranging from 0.72 to 0.84. CONCLUSION: The EQ-5D showed good agreement with self-reported symptom change in depression and anxiety, and correctly identified recovered patients. These findings indicate that the EQ-5D may be appropriately responsive to change in patients with depression and anxiety disorders, although replication in other clinical samples is needed.

The EQ-5D is a questionnaire that people fill in to report their subjective health. It is often used in clinics or hospitals to better understand how patients are affected by their illnesses, and if their health improves after treatment. For this information to be trustworthy, we need to verify how accurately the EQ-5D measures health for the particular patients we want to use it with. This is often done by comparing EQ-5D scores with scores from other questionnaires. For example, if we want to use the EQ-5D with a group of patients with depression, we compare the scores of the EQ-5D with scores from questionnaires that are commonly used to measure depression symptoms.In this study, we compared the scores of the EQ-5D with scores from questionnaires measuring symptoms of depression and anxiety. Their performances were similar, and the EQ-5D scores could also correctly identify which patients had recovered during treatment. This implies that the EQ-5D can be a useful tool for understanding the impact of depression and anxiety and can help in decision-making regarding these patients.

The Return-to-Work Self-efficacy Questionnaire (RTW-SE): A Validation Study of Predictive Abilities and Cut-off Values for Patients on Sick Leave Due to Anxiety or Depression.

Purpose This study aimed to evaluate the validity of the Return-to-Work Self-efficacy Questionnaire (RTW-SE) in a Norwegian sample of patients with common mental disorders. The secondary aim was to provide validated cut-off scores for the RTW-SE. Methods Among patients receiving work-focused therapy (N = 626), the RTW-SE was measured pre-and post-treatment, and work status was assessed up to one-year post-treatment. The factor structure, internal consistency and construct validity were assessed. Furthermore, post-treatment cut-off scores were calculated using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis for patients on sick leave at baseline (n = 314) and at the end of treatment (n = 145). The predictive ability of the suggested RTW-SE cut-off scores were investigated longitudinally. Results Exploratory principal component analysis identified a one-factor solution with high internal consistency (0.91). RTW-SE exhibited small to moderate negative correlations with measures of depression and anxiety, and was significantly different between subgroups of patients with different work status, supporting construct validity. Pre- and post-treatment RTW-SE scores significantly predicted full return to work at 3, 6 and 12 months post-treatment. ROC analysis suggested an upper cut-off score of 4.6, associated with full RTW, and lower cut-off score of 3.7, associated with partial RTW. These cut-offs showed acceptable discriminative ability and significant longitudinal predictive ability. Conclusion The RTW-SE possesses good psychometric properties and the suggested cut-off scores have significant predictive ability in a clinical setting.

Healing the wounds of workplace bullying: Evaluating mental health and workplace participation among victims seeking treatment for common mental disorders.

BACKGROUND: Victims of workplace bullying represent a group characterised by severe negative health complaints at risk of losing their foothold in working life. To date, very few studies have investigated the effect of psychological treatment of the health-related problems often facing victims of bullying. OBJECTIVE: The aim was to investigate if victims of workplace bullying suffering from common mental disorders (CMD) benefit from clinical treatment for their mental health problems at an outpatient clinic treating patients using Metacognitive or Cognitive Behavioural Therapy with work-focus. Criteria were symptom reduction and change in workplace participation. Comparisons were made between the victims of workplace bullying with CMD, a wait-list control group consisting of patients who had also been exposed to bullying yet now awaiting treatment, and other patients not exposed to bullying. METHODS: The sample comprised of 405 patients from an outpatient clinic in Norway. The study used a naturalistic observational design and data was collected pre-treatment and post-treatment. RESULTS: The results showed the treatment to be effective in symptom reduction for victims of bullying to a similar degree as patients otherwise not exposed to bullying. Even more, victims receiving treatment had a larger improvement compared to the wait-list control group (p < 0.001). Yet, among patients on sick leave pre-treatment, fewer victims of bullying were fully working by the end of treatment compared to the patients not exposed to workplace bullying. CONCLUSION: The findings provide ground for optimism for this treatment as an efficient way of dealing with the aftermath of workplace bullying.

Changes in depression domains as predictors of return to work in common mental disorders.

BACKGROUND: Depression highly impairs function and reduces quality of life. Therefore, both symptomatic and functional recovery are important treatment goals. Depression consists of several cognitive, somatic, and affective symptom factors that differently affect function. However, it is unclear whether changes in these domains predict return to work (RTW) after treatment. METHODS: Data were collected during treatment from patients on full or partial sick leave reporting depression symptoms (N = 300) at an out-patient clinic. Information on work status was assessed pre- and post-treatment and at 6 months follow-up. Multiple logistic regression was used to investigate if residualized changes in symptom factors predicted full RTW, controlling for gender, education level, and age. RESULTS: Changes (as symptom improvement) in the cognitive, somatic, and affective factor scores each significantly predicted full RTW post-treatment and at follow-up for patients on full and partial sick leave, even after controlling for gender, education level, and age. The change in the somatic factor explained the largest proportion of variance for full work post-treatment in patients on full sick-leave, while change in the cognitive factor explained most unique variance for patients on graded sick leave. LIMITATIONS: The sample consisted of a majority of women with a relatively high level of education. This study should be replicated in more heterogeneous samples. CONCLUSION: Changes in depression symptom domains are significant predictors for RTW work post-treatment. The change in the somatic factor explained the largest proportion of variance in patients on full sick leave and thus may particularly influence RTW after treatment.

Self-Reported Health in Patients on or at Risk of Sick Leave Due to Depression and Anxiety: Validity of the EQ-5D.

Objectives: The EQ-5D is a generic, self-report measure of health that is increasingly used in clinical settings, including mental health. The EQ-5D captures health using five dimensions: Mobility, Self-care, Usual activities, Pain/discomfort, and Anxiety/Depression. The validity of the EQ-5D is previously unexplored in patients on or at risk of sick leave due to depression and anxiety. The study's aim was to examine its validity in this group of patients. Methods: Baseline data were collected from self-report questionnaires in an observational study (N=890) at a Norwegian outpatient-clinic. Participants were adults on or at risk of sick leave due to depression and anxiety who were referred for treatment by general practitioners. The crosswalk methodology was applied to estimate the EQ-5D value. Validity was assessed by comparing responses on the EQ-5D with the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II), the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), and Subjective Health Complaints (SHC). An ordinal regression model was used to assess known-groups validity. Convergent validity was assessed using Pearson's correlation coefficient, and a multivariate regression model that included sociodemographic characteristics. Results: The mean EQ-5D value was 0.631, indicating reduced health status compared to "full health" anchored at 1.0, and patients reported moderate levels of depression and anxiety. Ordinal regression indicated that the EQ-5D could discriminate between different levels of symptom severity for depression and anxiety. The EQ-5D value showed significant correlation with the clinical measures; r=-0.52 for the BDI-II, r=-0.49 for the BAI, and r=-0.44 for SHC. The multivariate regression showed that the clinical variables significantly predicted the EQ-5D value, explaining 40.1% of the variance. Depression and anxiety scores were the largest determinants of EQ-5D value, respectively, whilst sick leave, subjective health complaints, and gender made moderate contributions. Conclusion: The EQ-5D showed indication of validity in patients on or at risk of sick leave due to depression and anxiety in the present study. The EQ-5D value was sensitive to both symptom severity and functional impairment in the form of sick leave. The findings support the EQ-5D as a feasible and relevant measure of health status in these patients.

Sick leave and return to work for patients with anxiety and depression: a longitudinal study of trajectories before, during and after work-focused treatment.

OBJECTIVES: Sick leave due to anxiety and depression is a heterogeneous process constituting a pressing public health issue. This longitudinal study aimed to identify sick leave trajectories among patients before, during and after work-focused treatment, in all 29.5 months. We then aimed to determine the background and clinical characteristics of these trajectory groups. METHODS: Background and clinical data were collected by patient self-report (N=619) in an observational study in a specialised mental healthcare clinic. Sick leave was recorded from national registry data. A latent growth mixture model identified trajectories. Multinomial logistic regression determined differences in background characteristics while a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) identified clinical differences. RESULTS: We identified three trajectories: The 'Resilient' group (47.7%) had low sick leave throughout the period. The two other groups ('Recovery', 31.8% and 'High risk', 20.5%) had similar pretreatment trajectories: lower sick leave one year prior which increased to high sick leave at the start of treatment. After treatment, the 'Recovery' group made an almost full return to work while the 'High risk' group remained at high sick leave. The two groups with high sick leave had more women and higher age compared with the 'Resilient' group. All groups had similar clinical scores at the start of treatment, but the 'High risk' groups had residual depressive symptoms at the end of treatment. Effect sizes for anxiety and depression were moderate or large for all groups, (Cohen's d=0.74-1.81), and 87.2% of the total sample were fully working one year after treatment. CONCLUSION: We found three subgroups with distinctly different trajectories. Female gender and higher age were associated with high sick leave at the start of treatment, while residual depressive symptoms at the end of treatment predicted continued sick leave. The study points to the possibility of improving patient outcomes in the future by stratifying and tailoring treatment to patient characteristics.

Metacognitive therapy and work-focused interventions for patients on sick leave due to anxiety and depression: study protocol for a randomised controlled wait-list trial.

BACKGROUND: Common mental disorders such as depression and anxiety are major contributors to the global burden of disease. Affected individuals suffer reduced quality of life, impaired functioning and reduced capacity to work. Maintaining employment is an important determinant for health and wellbeing, and the economic impact of depression and anxiety is a significant societal expense. Treatments providing effective symptom reduction and helping patients return to work (RTW) would thus have substantial public health benefits. The present study will explore the effectiveness of metacognitive therapy (MCT) and work-focused interventions on reducing symptoms and increasing RTW rates for patients on sick leave due to depression and anxiety. METHODS: The study is a randomised controlled wait-list trial (RCT; N = 240). The intervention group will receive protocol-based MCT and work-focused interventions immediately after inclusion. The control condition is a wait-list control group. All patients will receive up to 12 weekly sessions. The study context is a Norwegian outpatient clinic part of a national programme aimed at reducing sick leave. The co-primary outcomes are change in RTW and symptoms of depression and anxiety at the end of treatment. In addition to self-report, sick leave will also be collected from national registries from 2 years prior to intervention to 4 years after intervention. Symptoms of scores will be collected by self-report at pre- and post-treatment and at 6 and 12 months follow-up after treatment. A cost-effectiveness analysis will use total cost and quality-adjusted life-years as the secondary outcomes. DISCUSSION: There is broad consensus on the importance of identifying treatment that effectively reduces depression and anxiety symptoms and aids RTW. This study is an important contribution to the field as it is the first RCT on MCT and work-focused interventions for patients on sick leave due to anxiety and depression. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03301922 . Registered on October 4, 2017.

Work-focused therapy for common mental disorders: A naturalistic study comparing an intervention group with a waitlist control group.

BACKGROUND: Common mental disorders (CMD) are leading causes of sickness absence. Treatments for CMD that both reduce symptoms and support work participation urgently need to be developed. OBJECTIVE: Determine the potential effects of work-focused therapy combining work interventions with either meta cognitive therapy or cognitive behavioural therapy (W-MCT/CBT) for patients with CMD on sick leave. METHODS: Naturalistic study with a quasi-experimental approach. Pre- and post-scores (return to work, symptoms, return-to-work self-efficacy, clinical recovery from depression and anxiety) were compared between the intervention group (n = 87) who received immediate treatment over an average of 10.40 sessions (SD = 3.09) and the non-randomized waitlist control group (n = 95) that had waited an average of 11.18 weeks (SD = 2.29). RESULTS: Significantly more patients returned fully to work in the intervention group (41.4%) than the control group (26.3%). Effect sizes for self-efficacy scores, depression and anxiety were large in the intervention group (d = 1.28, 1.01, 1.58), and significantly lower in the control group (d = 0.60, 0.14, 0.45). Significantly more patients in the treatment group than control group recovered from depression (54.1% vs. 12.8%) and anxiety (50.0% vs.10.6%). CONCLUSIONS: W-MCT/CBT may be an effective intervention for patients on sick leave due to CMD.

Clinical Characteristics of Patients Seeking Treatment for Common Mental Disorders Presenting With Workplace Bullying Experiences.

BACKGROUND: Targets of workplace bullying tend to develop severe mental health complaints, having increased risk of sick leave and expulsion from the workplace. Hence, these individuals are likely to be overrepresented among patients seeking treatment for common mental disorders (CMD). This study investigated the prevalence of exposure to workplace bullying in a patient group seeking treatment for CMD. Further we explored if exposed and non-exposed patients differed on clinical and work-related characteristics. METHODS: The sample comprised of 675 patients from an outpatient clinic in Norway and consisted of 70% women and had a mean age of 39 (SD = 10.5) years. The study had a cross-sectional design and differences between the patient groups were analysed using chi-square, Mann-Whitney U-tests and independent sample t-tests. RESULTS: The prevalence of exposure to bullying was 25.8%. The patients exposed to bullying reported significantly more major depressive disorders (MDDs) measured with the MINI psychiatric interview, higher levels of depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, subjective health complaints, alcohol use, and lower resilience as measured with questionnaires. Twice as many were on full-time sick leave, reported lower work ability, lower return to work self-efficacy, and lower job satisfaction. A majority preferred another job than the one they have today over returning to their current employment. CONCLUSION: Victims of workplace bullying are a vulnerable group at risk of expulsion from working life, being overrepresented among patients seeking mental health treatment for CMD. One in four patients represented with such experience have higher levels of psychological symptoms and are more often diagnosed with depression as compared to other patients. Thus, this is a problem that should be addressed in clinical settings. If not addressed there is an increased risk of sick leave and permanent exclusion from working life.