Question: In patients with dementia and mild cognitive impairment, how effective are psychological treatments compared to any other intervention for reducing depression and anxiety?

Answer:

Moderate quality evidence from 6 studies suggested that psychological interventions given in addition to usual care can reduce the symptoms of depression in patients with dementia or Alzheimer's disease compared to usual care alone. There was a smaller amount of evidence from 2 studies to suggest that psychological interventions can also reduce clinician-rated anxiety. There was no evidence in people with mild cognitive impairment and more randomised controlled trials are needed evaluating psychological interventions in this population. The review recommended that more research is needed into which types of treatment are the most effective.

To view the full summary, click the Download Document link to the right.

To view the Cochrane review which is included in this summary, click the Related Documents link, below.