Comparison of the Effectiveness of Metacognitive Therapy and Behavioral Activation on Depression in Elderly with Type 2 Diabetes

Abstract

Background and Aims: Generalized anxiety and depression are prevalent in patients with type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is one of the most common chronic diseases leading to many complications. This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of metacognitive therapy and behavioral activation on depression in the elderly with type 2 diabetes. Materials and Methods: This quasi-experimental study was conducted based on a pretest-posttest design using a follow-up and control group. The study population consisted of elderly with type 2 diabetes who referred to five endocrine and metabolism clinics in region 11 of Tehran, Iran, during 2017. A total of 45 males and females were selected by purposive sampling method based on the inclusion criteria. Then they were assigned randomly to one control and two case groups. The Beck Depression Inventory (Second Edition) was utilized to measure the depression scale. In total, eight 90-min group intervention sessions were held weekly. The data were analyzed in SPSS software (version 25) through analysis of covariance and repeated measures ANOVA. Results: The results showed that metacognitive therapy (F=15.07, P<0.001) and behavioral activation (F=7.09, P<0.008) were significantly effective on depression in the elderly with type 2 diabetes, and there was a significant difference between the experimental and control groups in this regard (P<0.001). Conclusions: This study was conducted to compare the effectiveness of metacognitive therapy and behavioral activation on depression in the elderly with type 2 diabetes. The results showed that metacognitive therapy and behavioral activation were significantly effective on depression in this population with type 2 diabetes. Moreover, behavioral activation was more effective than metacognitive therapy on depression reduction.