Context
Anxiety disorders commonly present in primary care where evidence-based mental health treatments often are unavailable or suboptimally delivered.
Objective
Compare evidence-based treatment for anxiety disorders to usual care in primary care, for principal and comorbid generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), panic disorder (PD), social anxiety disorder (SAD) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). We hypothesized superiority of CALM for principal anxiety disorders and comorbid disorders.
Design
A randomized, controlled trial comparing CALM intervention with Usual Care, at baseline, 6-month, 12-month and 18-month follow-ups.
Setting
17 primary care clinics in the United States.
Patients
Referred primary care sample, 1004 patients, with principal DSM-IV diagnoses of GAD (n=549), PD (n=262), SAD (n=132), or PTSD (n=61), mean 43.7 years (SD=13.7), 70.9% female,. 80% completed 18-month follow-up.
Interventions
CALM (computer-guided CBT and/or pharmacotherapy recommendations) and Usual Care.
Main Outcome Measures
Generalized Anxiety Disorder Severity Scale, Panic Disorder Severity-Self Report scale, Social Phobia Inventory, and PTSD Checklist-Civilian Version.
Results
CALM was superior to Usual Care for principal GAD at 6-month (−1.61; 95% CI = −2.42 to −.79), 12-month (−2.34; 95% CI = −3.22 to −1.45) and 18-month (−2.37; 95% CI = −3.24 to −1.50), PD at 6-month (−2.00; 95% CI = −3.55 to −0.44) and 12-month (−2.71; 95% CI = −4.29 to −1.14), and SAD at 6-month (−7.05; 95% CI = −12.11 to −2.00) outcomes. CALM was superior to Usual Care for comorbid SAD at 6-month (−4.26; 95% CI = −7.96 to −0.56), 12-month (−8.12, 95% CI = −11.84 to −4.40) and 18- month (−6.23, 95% CI = −9.90 to −2.55) outcomes. Effect sizes favored CALM, but were not statistically significant for other comorbid disorders.
Conclusions
CALM (CBT and psychotropic recommendations) is more effective than Usual Care for principal anxiety disorders, and to a lesser extent, comorbid anxiety disorders that present in primary care.