UK (Commonwealth Union) – Dementia patients generally indicate a difficulty in memory and finding words, sudden personality along with mood changes among others. Over 50 million people in the world live with dementia and the numbers continue to rise.
A new University College London (UCL) study has found that persons having dementia who suffer from anxiety or depression may benefit from talking therapies accessible via the National Health Service (NHS).
Mental health problems like depression and anxiety occur regularly in persons with dementia, and prior research estimate that it impacts 38 percent of individuals with mild dementia. However, the new research was the first to assess if talking therapies that are routinely delivered within healthcare settings may assist in relieving symptoms.
The study looked at data from 2,515,402 people, who had clinically important anxiety or depression and finished a course of treatment through the national ‘Improving Access to Psychological Therapies’ (IAPT) service in England between the years 2012 and 2019. IAPT is a free NHS service offering evidence-based therapies for tackling anxiety and depression, like CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy), counselling and guided self-help, with meetings conducted face-to-face individually, in groups and online.
The study revealed that among individuals having dementia, the treatment proved to be clinically favorable and 63 percent of them saw a decline in symptoms of depression and anxiety, following IAPT. Meanwhile, roughly 40 percent made a full recovery. Comparatively, in the control group, 70 percent of individuals saw a boost in symptoms and 47% recovered.
“Anxiety and depression are very common in people with dementia. They are extremely debilitating and associated with worse outcomes for both the person with dementia and their carers,” said PhD candidate Georgia Bell, who was the lead author from UCL Psychology & Language Sciences.
Funding for the research was granted by the Alzheimer’s Society and Wellcome.
