Assessment of an App-based Anxiety/Depression Program in a Population With Elevated Anxiety/Depression

Summary

Generalized anxiety disorder is a mental health disorder characterized by feelings of tension and worry with physical symptoms including increased blood pressure. Approximately 20% of US adults reported an anxiety disorder in the past year and an estimated 31% of US adults reported anxiety at some time in their lives. Anxiety can be experienced throughout one's life and levels of anxiety can increase with stressful life events, physical health conditions, and medication use. Chronic, untreated anxiety has been linked to headaches, dizziness, depression, high blood pressure, heart disease, digestive disorders, and a worsened immune system - greatly impacting one's overall quality of life (QOL).

Anxiety and depression are highly comorbid, with approximately 50-60% of those with anxiety symptoms also experiencing depression symptoms. Experiencing these disorders and symptoms comorbidly may further worsen one's mental health and overall QOL. Untreated, chronic depression can heighten symptoms of depression leading to increased risk of heart disease, sleep disruptions, weight gain/loss, a weakened immune system, physical pains, and suicide attempts.

Anxiety and depression are commonly treated using various psychotherapeutic techniques including cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and acceptance and commitment therapy techniques administered by a licensed therapist. However, therapy has many barriers to treatment including insurance not covering treatments, overall treatment cost, unsure where to seek treatment/no access to a therapist, and therapy being unavailable and inconvenient due to scheduling during the workday. As such, app-based mental health tools have increased in popularity to improve access and affordability to effective mental health treatments.

The purpose of the study is to examine the effectiveness of a guided anxiety/depression app-based program by Headspace, which uses CBT with mindfulness to improve anxiety and depression symptoms in a population with elevated baseline anxiety and/or depression. The study will employ a 2-arm app-based intervention involving 1 active intervention and a waitlist control for a duration of 3 weeks, followed by a 3-week follow-up assessment.

Conditions

• Depression Anxiety Disorder

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Anxiety/Depression Program

Participants will complete the Headspace Anxiety/Depression Program, which is a 21 day program based on CBT, combined with mindfulness. The program is trans-diagnostic in nature (i.e. addresses both anxiety and depression symptoms).

OTHER

Waitlist

Participants will continue their regular routines for an 21 day period and will not be assigned to an intervention.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

  collaborator OTHER

• University of Southern Denmark

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Ulrich Kirk, PhD · University of Southern Denmark

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

SUPPORTIVE_CARE

Masking

SINGLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2024-10-04

Primary Completion

2025-04-10

Completion

2025-06-26

Countries

• United States

Study Locations