H021 6-Month follow-up of the impact of an online psychological support service for people at risk of HD and people with premanifest HD

<h3>Background</h3> Structured psychological support for people at risk of HD (HDRisk) and people with premanifest HD (PreHD) is scarce. <h3>Aims</h3> The European Huntington Association aimed to address this gap by establishing an online psychological support service for people with HDRisk and PreHD in Spain figure 1. <h3>Methods</h3> A clinical psychologist provided eight online individual sessions, two online group sessions and one face-to-face group session over a 6-month period. The depression, anxiety and coping strategies of participants were assessed at baseline (Psy1), one week after the intervention (Psy2) and six months after the intervention (Psy3). The Overall Anxiety Severity and Impairment Scale (OASIS), the Overall Depression Severity and Impairment Scale (ODSIS) and the Coping Strategies Questionnaire (CAE) were used as self-assessment measures. <h3>Results</h3> 9 out of 16 participants completed the three assessments. From Psy1 to Psy2, participants presented decreased negative auto-focus coping strategies (CAE). From Psy2 to Psy3, participants presented increased social anxiety (OASIS), increased depression intensity and difficulty in engaging in activities (ODSIS), increased negative auto-focus and overt emotional expression coping strategies and decreased problem-solving coping strategies (CAE). No differences were found between Psy1 and Psy3. <h3>Conclusions</h3> A short-term online psychological service positively impacted the depression and anxiety levels and coping strategies of people with HDRisk and PreHD. The positive impact was diluted after 6 months, as participants presented depression, anxiety and coping profiles similar to the ones before intervention. These findings suggest the need of continued support to effectively overcome the HDRisk and PreHD psychological burden and maintain the therapeutic gains.