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Patients with sarcoidosis who practiced online mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (eMBCT) showed improvements in fatigue, anxiety, depression, and health status.
New research assessed the impact that 12 weeks of online mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (eMBCT) had on patients experiencing fatigue due to sarcoidosis.
Fatigue is a prevalent and burdensome symptom for those living with sarcoidosis, and managing this symptom is particularly challenging partially because of the lack of evidence-based therapies.
This motivated Vivienne Kahlmann, MD, Center of Excellence for Interstitial Lung Diseases and Sarcoidosis, Department of Respiratory Medicine, Erasmus Medical Center-University Medical Center Rotterdam, and a team of investigators to evaluate this cognitive therapy and its effectiveness to mitigate the negative symptoms experienced by adults with sarcoidosis.
For the TIRED prospective, open-label, multicenter, randomized controlled trial, investigators recruited patients from 3 centers in the Netherlands who were 18 years or older, with stable sarcoidosis, and a score higher than 21 on the Fatigue Assessment Scale (FAS).
Participating patients were randomized into the eMBCT group or the control group and completed patient-reported outcome measures at baseline, after intervention, and then 12 weeks following the completion of eMBCT.
Investigators looked for a change in FAS score at the first follow up to compare the intervention and control groups for the primary outcome. The secondary outcomes were within-group difference in FAS score at both follow ups, between-group difference in FAS score at final follow up, and the changes in Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, the Freiburg Mindfulness Inventory-Short Form, and the Kings Sarcoidosis Questionnaire.
A total of 99 patients were randomized for the trial between June 2019-October 2021, however, 6 patients withdrew before beginning intervention. At baseline, the FAS score was similar, with a score of 34.57 in the eMBCT group (n=46), and 35.51 in the control group (n=47).
Based on the mean changes in FAS score after intervention, the intervention group demonstrated a significant improvement compared with the control group. The mean change of the eMBCT group was -4.53 and -1.28 in the control group.
In addition to the benefits of sarcoidosis-associated fatigue, the eMBCT group showed a significant improvement in anxiety, depressive symptoms, mindfulness, and general health status at the post-intervention follow up. This led investigators to conclude that implementing 12 weeks of eMBCT can improve fatigue, anxiety, depression, mindfulness, and health status in patients with sarcoidosis-associated fatigue.
The study "Online mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for fatigue in patients with sarcoidosis (TIRED): a randomised controlled trial" was published in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine.