The study of the effectiveness of cognitive behavioral therapy on depression and C-reactive protein in cardiac patients

Cardiovascular diseases is the first leading cause of mortality in the world and depression is the most common psychiatric disorder in cardiac patients. The effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) in reducing depression and mood-related mortality in this population is controversial.

Hence, the present study aimed to study the effectiveness of CBT in depression and C- reactive protein (hs-CRP) in coronary patients.

The present study was experimental and the study design was pre-test, post-test, with follow-up and active control group. The statistical population comprised the patients referred to the Isfahan Cardiac Rehabilitation Research Center in 2018, among whom 50 patients were randomly selected and assigned into experimental and active control groups. The experimental group received group CBT for 8 weeks and the active control group received usual medical education. The data were collected by the Beck Depression Inventory and Quantitative hs-CRP Detection Kit. Repeated-measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used for data analysis.

The results showed no significant difference between the experimental and control groups in depression and hs-CRP in the post-test and follow-up stages (P>0.05); therefore, CBT had no significant effect on depression and hs-CRP in coronary patients.

These findings indicate that CBT is not effective in reducing depression and negative prognosis in these patients. These findings might suggest the use of alternative therapies by cardiovascular psychologists.