Program ACTIVE II: Outcomes From a Randomized, Multistate Community-Based Depression Treatment for Rural and Urban...

Depression (major depressive disorder [MDD]) in adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is associated with worsened diabetes complications, increased health care costs, and early mortality. Program ACTIVE II was a randomized, controlled, multicenter treatment trial designed to test the comparative effectiveness of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and/or community-based exercise (EXER) on diabetes and depression outcomes compared with usual care (UC).

Using a 2 × 2 factorial randomized controlled trial design, adults with T2DM for ≥1 year who met DSM-IV-TR criteria for MDD were randomized to CBT (10 sessions occurring over 12 weeks; N = 36), EXER (12 weeks of community-based exercise including six sessions with a personal trainer; N = 34), CBT+EXER (concurrent over a 12-week period; N = 34), and UC (N = 36). Primary outcomes were depression remission rate (assessed by psychiatric interviewers blind to assignment) and change in glycemic control (HbA_1c).

The mean age was 56.0 years (SD 10.7). Participants were female (77%), white (71%), and married (52%). After controlling for education and antidepressant use, odds of achieving full MDD remission in the intervention groups were 5.0-6.8 times greater than UC (P < 0.0167). The CBT+EXER group demonstrated improved HbA_1c compared with UC. For participants with a baseline HbA_1c ≥7.0%, exploratory post hoc subgroup analysis showed that the CBT+EXER group had a 1.1% improvement in HbA_1c (P < 0.0001) after controlling for covariates.

The Program ACTIVE behavioral treatment interventions demonstrated clinically meaningful improvements in depression outcomes in adults with T2DM and MDD. These community-based interventions are complementary to medical care and extend access to those in rural and urban areas.