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QUESTION: Does the addition of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) to medical management relieve symptoms and reduce disability and psychological distress in patients with recent onset rheumatoid arthritis (RA)?
Design
Randomised {allocation concealed}*, blinded (outcome assessor), controlled trial with 6 months of follow up.
Setting
Rheumatology clinics at 3 hospitals in or near London, UK.
Patients
56 patients who were 18–75 years of age, had had definite or classic RA for <2 years, and tested seropositive for RA. Exclusion criteria were history of mental illness or alcohol or drug abuse, or insufficient fluency in English. Follow up was 80% (mean age 55 y, 71% women, mean …
Footnotes
↵* Information provided by author.
Source of funding: North Thames Regional Research and Development Programme.
For correspondence: Dr L Sharpe, Department of Psychology, Clinical Studies Unit F12, University of Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia. Fax +61 2 9351 7328.
A modified version of this abstract appears in Evidence-Based Mental Health.