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Effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) on depression and sleep quality in painful diabetic neuropathy: a randomized clinical trial

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Abstract

Background

Neuropathic pain is a complicated phenomenon in patients with diabetes. These patients have many problems, especially depression and Sleep disturbance. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy on depression and Sleep disturbance in patients with painful diabetic neuropathy.

Methods

The current paper was conducted according to the clinical trial method with 50 participants. Participants were separated into intervention and control groups randomly. Based on the diagnosis of neurologists, all participants received standard medications to regulate neuropathic pain. The intervention group received ACT for eight sessions. The results were evaluated in the pre-test, post-test, and follow-up. The tools used were the Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI) and Beck’s depression inventory. Statistical analysis includes descriptive statistics, and repeated-measures (ANOVA) conducted by SPSS (version 26) software. Results: Results showed that in the intervention group, the treatment led to improved depressive symptoms (F = 6.81, P < 0.05). Besides, for sleep quality, treatment in all subscales, except for the Hypnotic medicine subscale, significantly improved the intervention group’s situations. It was also observed that the overall quality of sleep in the ACT group showed a more significant improvement (P < 0.05). All the above results remained the same until the end of the follow-up period (P < 0.05).

Conclusion

ACT, as a complementary treatment, can improve the psychiatric symptoms and problems in people with neuropathic pain. Therefore, it is necessary to include psychotherapy services along with medical treatment in outpatient and hospitalization units.

Trial registration number

IRCT201802050388630N4. Registered in 02/05/2018.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to express our gratitude to the staff of the hospitals affiliated with Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences who have assisted in the implementation of this study. The Vice Chancellor for Research and Technology of Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences is also highly appreciated for providing the financial resources for the research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of clinical psychology, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Mohammadreza Davoudi

  2. Department of Clinical Psychology, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran

    Amir Abbas Taheri, Ali Akbar Foroughi, Seyed Mojtaba Ahmadi & Khatereh Heshmati

Authors
  1. Mohammadreza Davoudi
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  2. Amir Abbas Taheri
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  3. Ali Akbar Foroughi
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  4. Seyed Mojtaba Ahmadi
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  5. Khatereh Heshmati
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Correspondence to Amir Abbas Taheri.

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The authors report no conflicts of interest in this project.

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Davoudi, M., Taheri, A.A., Foroughi, A. et al. Effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) on depression and sleep quality in painful diabetic neuropathy: a randomized clinical trial. J Diabetes Metab Disord 19, 1081–1088 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40200-020-00609-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40200-020-00609-x

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