The Overall Anxiety Severity and Impairment Scale as an Outcome Measure in Internet-Delivered Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Anxiety Disorders: Observational Study

• Published in: Journal of medical Internet research 2023-08, Vol.25 (1), p.e45362
• Main Authors: Karpov, Boris, Lipsanen, Jari Olavi, Ritola, Ville, Rosenström, Tom, Saarni, Suoma, Pihlaja, Satu, Stenberg, Jan-Henry, Laizane, Paula, Joffe, Grigori
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Anxiety Disorders - diagnosis; Anxiety Disorders - therapy; Behavior modification; Clinical medicine; Clinical research; Clinical trials; Cognitive Behavioral Therapy; Cognitive-behavioral factors; Data Interpretation, Statistical; Family physicians; Fear & phobias; Generalized anxiety disorder; Humans; Interaction analysis; Internet; Linear analysis; Measurement; Measures; Mental disorders; Observational studies; Obsessive compulsive disorder; Original Paper; Outcome Assessment, Health Care; Panic attacks; Panic disorders; Patients; Post traumatic stress disorder; Quality of life; Questionnaires; Self report; Severity; Social anxiety; Therapists; Therapy; Worry
• ISSN: 1438-8871; 1439-4456; 1438-8871
• DOI: 10.2196/45362

Internet-delivered cognitive behavioral therapy (iCBT) is effective in the treatment of anxiety disorders. iCBT clinical trials use relatively long and time-consuming disorder-specific rather than transdiagnostic anxiety measurements. Overall Anxiety Severity and Impairment Scale (OASIS) is a brief self-report scale that could offer a universal, easy-to-use anxiety measurement option in disorder-specific and transdiagnostic iCBT programs. We aimed to investigate relationships between OASIS and disorder-specific instruments in iCBT. We expected these relationships to be positive. We investigated patients in original nationwide iCBT programs for generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic disorder, and social anxiety disorder, which were administered by Helsinki University Hospital, Finland. In each program, anxiety symptoms were measured using both disorder-specific scales (the 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale, Penn State Worry Questionnaire, revised Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory, Panic Disorder Severity Scale, and Social Phobia Inventory) and by OASIS. A general linear model for repeated measures (mixed models) and interaction analysis were used for investigating the changes and relationships in the mean scores of OASIS and disorder-specific scales from the first session to the last one. The main effect of linear mixed models indicated a distinct positive association between OASIS and disorder-specific scale scores. Interaction analysis demonstrated relatively stable associations between OASIS and the revised Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory (F =0.09; 95% CI 0.090-0.277; P=.32), and OASIS and the Panic Disorder Severity Scale (F =-0.02; 95% CI -0.108 to -0.065; P=.63) from first the session to the last one, while the 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale (F =-0.06; 95% CI -0.109 to -0.017; P=.007), Penn State Worry Questionnaire (F =-0.52; 95% CI -0.620 to -0.437; P