Randomized controlled trial of interpersonal psychotherapy versus enhanced treatment as usual for women with co-occurring depression and pelvic pain.

OBJECTIVE

Our study assessed the effectiveness of Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT) tailored for biomedical patients with depression and pain. IPT was compared to enhanced treatment as usual (E-TAU) among women with co-occurring depression and chronic pain presenting for care at a women's health or family medicine practice. We hypothesized that women presenting to urban medical practices with depression and chronic pain would benefit from IPT tailored to address their needs to a greater degree than from E-TAU.

METHODS

We conducted a randomized controlled psychotherapy trial of 61 women from 2 urban medical practices who met criteria for major depressive disorder and chronic pelvic pain. Participants were assigned to receive either 8 sessions of IPT or a facilitated psychotherapy referral to a community mental health center, and assessed for depression, social interactions, and pain at 0-, 12-, 24-, and 36-weeks, with score on the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression as the primary outcome. Both intent-to-treat (ITT) and causal modeling analyses correcting for treatment attendance were conducted.

RESULTS

ITT analyses were not significant. In causal modeling analyses, participants assigned to IPT showed significantly more improvement for depression and social interactions, but not for pain.

CONCLUSION

IPT may be a viable option as part of a comprehensive treatment program for women in medical practices with depression and chronic pain.

CLINICAL TRIALS REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT00895999.