Purpose of review: Depression is prevalent and common among individuals living with diabetes. The aim of this review is to systematically assess and meta-analyze the treatment effect of cognitive-behavioral therapy for depression (and other affective outcomes) among patients with diabetes.
Recent findings: Earlier investigations found both psychosocial and pharmacological interventions, including cognitive-behavioral therapy, were promising in managing depression in patients with diabetes, though these findings remain inclusive due to poor study designs and a small number of trials included, which calls for a comprehensive systematic review and meta-analysis. A total of 33 studies (89 effect sizes) reported a moderate and statistically significant treatment effect of cognitive-behavioral therapy for depressive symptoms among individuals with diabetes (d = 0.301, 95% CI 0.115-0.487, p < 0.001). On average, cognitive-behavioral therapy was effective for psychological stress/distress outcomes but not for anxiety or physiological outcomes. The findings of the study confirmed CBT as an effective treatment option for depression among diabetes patients and identified important areas for future research.
Keywords: CBT; Depression; Diabetes; Meta-analysis.
© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.