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Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2018 Feb;141(2):e20171969.
doi: 10.1542/peds.2017-1969. Epub 2018 Jan 19.

Cost-effectiveness of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Depressed Youth Declining Antidepressants

John F Dickerson  1 , Frances L Lynch  2 , Michael C Leo  2 , Lynn L DeBar  3 , John Pearson  2 , Gregory N Clarke  2
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Cost-effectiveness of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Depressed Youth Declining Antidepressants

John F Dickerson et al. Pediatrics. 2018 Feb.

Abstract

Background and objectives: Adolescents with depression identified in primary care settings often have limited treatment options beyond antidepressant (AD) therapy. We assessed the cost-effectiveness of a brief cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) program among depressed adolescents who declined or quickly stopped using ADs.

Methods: A total of 212 youth with depression were randomly assigned to treatment as usual (TAU) or TAU plus brief individual CBT. Clinical outcomes included depression-free days (DFDs) and estimated quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs). Costs were adjusted to 2008 US dollars. Incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs) comparing CBT to TAU were calculated over 12- and 24-month follow-up periods.

Results: Youth randomly assigned to CBT had 26.8 more DFDs (P = .044) and 0.067 more QALYs (P = .044) on average compared with TAU over 12 months. Total costs were $4976 less (P = .025) by the end of the 24-month follow-up among youth randomly assigned to CBT. Total costs per DFD were -$51 (ICER = -$51; 95% confidence interval [CI]: -$394 to $9) at 12 months and -$115 (ICER = -$115; 95% CI: -$1090 to -$6) at 24 months. Total costs per QALY were -$20 282 (ICER = -$20 282; 95% CI: -$156 741 to $3617) at 12 months and -$45 792 (ICER = -$45 792; 95% CI: -$440 991 to -$2731) at 24 months.

Conclusions: Brief primary care CBT among youth declining AD therapy is cost-effective by widely accepted standards in depression treatment. CBT becomes dominant over TAU over time, as revealed by a statistically significant cost offset at the end of the 2-year follow-up.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00523081.

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Conflict of interest statement

POTENTIAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST: The authors have indicated they have no potential conflicts of interest to disclose.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Cost-effectiveness planes. Total costs and outpatient costs through 12- and 24-month follow-up periods. A, Total costs through 12 months. B, Total costs through 24 months.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Cost-effectiveness acceptability curves. Total costs and outpatient costs through 12- and 24-month follow-up periods. A, Total costs through 12 months. B, Total costs through 24 months.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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