Background: Anxiety disorders are the most common mental disorders, typically treated with psychotherapy and medication. These treatments are not suitable for, acceptable to, or effective for everyone. Alpha-Stim AID is a Cranial Electrotherapy Stimulation (CES) treatment with evidence of effectiveness in treating anxiety disorders. Objective: The aim of this paper is to present outcomes on anxiety, depression, and quality of life of Alpha-Stim use in primary care patients in the United Kingdom's (UK) National Health Service (NHS) who reported symptoms of anxiety. Methods: Open label patient cohort design. Self-report measures: PHQ-9 (depression), GAD-7 (anxiety) and EQ-5D-5L (health related quality of life). Twenty-three patients with symptoms of anxiety completed a six-week course of Alpha-Stim intervention. Results: Reliable improvement and remission rates respectively were 60.9% and 17.4% for the GAD-7; 42.9% and 22.7% for the PHQ-9. Significant improvement and medium/large effect sizes (n2 = 0.59 and 0.56 respectively). EQ-5D-5L results showed significant improvements in quality of life. Perceived quality of life doubled with an improvement of 0.36 on the health index score, this intervention adds 3.64 Quality Adjusted Life Years (QALYs). Limitations: The study was not an RCT, there was no control group. Conclusions: Alpha-Stim AID CES can be delivered through a UK primary care practice, and can have a significant impact on symptoms of anxiety and depression, and improve quality of life in primary care patients with anxiety symptoms. Further feasibility studies in primary care and sufficiently powered RCT are required.

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

Background: Symptoms of anxiety disorders are highly common and can have a severe impact on people's lives; they are typically treated with psychotherapy and/or anti-anxiety medication. These treatments are not suitable for, acceptable to, or effective for everyone. Alpha-Stim AID is a cranial electrotherapy stimulation (CES) device with evidence of effectiveness in treating symptoms of anxiety. In this study, Alpha-Stim AID was offered through a United Kingdom (UK) universal community healthcare provider, Intermediate Care Team (ICT) community healthcare service to patients who reported signs of anxiety. Objective: The aim of this paper is to present feasibility findings and outcomes on anxiety, health status, and quality of life. Methods: Open-label patient cohort design, with no control group. Participants were adults who reported symptoms of anxiety and were under the care of universal national health service (NHS) Intermediate Care Team (ICT) community healthcare service in the United Kingdom (UK). Pre-and post-intervention assessment used participant self-report measures: generalised anxiety disorder (GAD-7) and health related quality of life (EQ-5D-5L). The three ICT staff members who offered the Alpha-Stim AID to patients completed a questionnaire on their experience. Results: Eighteen patients used the Alpha-Stim and completed outcome measures. GAD-7 scores significantly improved from 13.9 (SD = 4.3) to 7.3 (SD = 5.7) (p < 0.001), with a large effect size of 0.88. Analysis of EQ-ED-5L health index score conversions indicated perceived quality of life increased from 0.31 (SD = 0.25) to 0.48 (SD = 0.28) at end (p = 0.036), with a small effect size of 0.12. EQ-VAS scores at baseline improved from 49.2 (SD = 24.0) to 64.4 (SD = 26.2) at the end (p = 0.05), with a small effect size of 0.