Efficacy of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy on Mood Disorders, Sleep, Fatigue, and Quality of Life in Parkinson's Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Objective: The aim of this study was to perform a quantitative analysis to evaluate the efficacy of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) on mood disorders, sleep, fatigue, and its impact on quality of life (QOL) in Parkinson's Disease (PD). Methods: We searched for randomized controlled trials in three electronic databases. Fourteen studies, including 507 patients with PD, met the inclusion criteria. We determined the pooled efficacy by standard mean differences and 95% confidence intervals, using I-2 to reveal heterogeneity. Results: The result showed CBT had a significant effect on depression [-0.93 (95%CI, -1.19 to -0.67, P < 0.001)] and anxiety [-0.76 (95%CI, -0.97 to -0.55, P < 0.001)]. Moderate effect sizes were noted with sleep disorders [-0.45 (95% CI, -0.70 to -0.20, P = 0.0004)]. There was no evident impact of CBT on fatigue or QOL. We found an intervention period > 8 weeks was advantageous compared with < 8 weeks, and CBT implemented in non-group was more effective than in group. Between the delivery methods, no significant difference was found. Conclusion: We found that CBT in patients with PD was an efficacious therapy for some non-motor symptoms in PD, but not efficacious for fatigue and QOL. These results suggest that CBT results in significant improvement in PD and should be used as a conventional clinical intervention.

Automated summary

The study found that cognitive behavioral therapy is effective for mood disorders and anxiety in patients with Parkinson's Disease, with moderate effects on sleep disorders, but not effective for fatigue and quality of life. A treatment period of more than 8 weeks and non-group implementation of CBT were more advantageous.