Clinical effect of the cognitive-behavioral group therapy combined with escitalopram therapy on senile depression

Objective To investigate the efficacy of escitalopram combined with cognitive behavioral therapy on elderly first-episode depression. Methods A total of 87 cases of elderly patients with first-episode depression were randomly divided into two groups, group cognitive combined drug therapy group (combined group, 42 cases) and only medication group (drug group, 45 cases). Before and after 2, 4, 8 months of treatment, Hamilton anxiety scale, Hamilton depression scale and automatic idea questionnaire were used to determine the therapeutic effect; at the same time, the cognitive function of the patients was evaluated by continuous executive test and compared with the scores of therapeutic factors at the end of the first stage. Results The depression symptoms improved significantly in the combined group compared with the drug group, information transmission, self understanding, team cohesion, emotional catharsis and other factors in the evaluation of curative effect was dominant. Conclusions Group cognitive behavior therapy combined with drug therapy can improve the curative effect of first-episode senile depression, improve the functional cognition and the life satisfaction of patients, with better long-term curative effect. Key words: Cognitive-behavioral group therapy; Senile depression; Therapeutic factor