Comparison of the effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy and cognitive behavior therapy on fatigue in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients

Abstract

Background and Aim: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic progressive inflammatory disease of the central nervous system that patients suffer from its complications and experience physical and emotional side effects in their lifetime. The purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) and cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) on fatigue in MS patients. Materials and Methods: This was a clinical trial with pre and post-test design. Among the patients with MS referring to the neurology department of Baqiyatallah Hospital, 30 patients were selected by convenient sampling method and randomly divided into two experimental and one control groups. Fatigue severity scale (FSS) was used to assess fatigue in the MS patients in the pre-treatment (pre-test) and post-treatment (post-test) stages. Results:The results showed that ACT and CBT only with a little difference had similar effects on the improvement and decrease of severity of fatigue so that, we found a significant decrease in the scores of severity of fatigue in the post-test compared to the scores in the pretest. Conclusion:The results indicated that ACT and CBT had the same effect on reducing the severity of fatigue in the MS patients.

The Effectiveness of Cognitive-Behavioral, Mindfulness and Acceptance and Commitment Therapies to Improving the Psychological Symptoms of Patients with Multiple Sclerosis in Iran: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

“…The main characteristics of 21 eligible RCTs are summarized in Table 1. The included interventions were as follows: mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) four studies (27)(28)(29)(30), ACT five studies (22,23,(31)(32)(33), CBT eight studies (31,(34)(35)(36)(37)(38), MBSR and CBT four studies (39)(40)(41)(42)(43)(44). Out of 21 studies, in 20 of them the sessions had been held as in person (21-23, 27-41, 43), and in one study it had been done using Telegram application (42).…”

“…The minimum sample size was 20 and maximum was 70 with the mean of 36.72. Four studies had been conducted in Tehran (33,35,42,43), four in Isfahan (22,23,36,45), and others in different cities of Iran. Out of the studies, in seven of them, the gender of patients was unspecified (22,27,30,34,35,40,41).…”

“…Four studies had been conducted in Tehran (33,35,42,43), four in Isfahan (22,23,36,45), and others in different cities of Iran. Out of the studies, in seven of them, the gender of patients was unspecified (22,27,30,34,35,40,41). In six studies, the age of patients had not been mentioned (32,34,36,40,42,44), and in other studies the mean age of the patients was 35.06 years.…”

Perceived Social Isolation Among Patients With Multiple Sclerosis Suffering From Disease-Induced Pain and Disability

“…Multiple sclerosis (MS), most frequently presenting between the ages of 20 and 40 years, is one of the most prevalent and debilitating diseases of the central nervous and autoimmune systems due to the progressive and degenerative inflammatory process of myelin in the central nervous system (Rezaiy Azizbadi et al, 2020). This disease affects some 2 million people worldwide and is more common in women than men (Alaee Parapari et al, 2020; Karimi et al, 2021). According to statistics published by the Multiple Sclerosis Institute of Iran, there are about 70,000 people with MS in Iran, making Iran one of the top 10 countries in the world in terms of the incidence of this disease (Alaee Parapari et al, 2020), with 5,000 new cases diagnosed each year (Karimi et al, 2021).…”

“…This disease affects some 2 million people worldwide and is more common in women than men (Alaee Parapari et al, 2020; Karimi et al, 2021). According to statistics published by the Multiple Sclerosis Institute of Iran, there are about 70,000 people with MS in Iran, making Iran one of the top 10 countries in the world in terms of the incidence of this disease (Alaee Parapari et al, 2020), with 5,000 new cases diagnosed each year (Karimi et al, 2021). MS is characterized by inflammation and damage to myelin and plaque.…”