Investigating the Impact of Psychological Interventions on Autoimmune Disease Progression in Women

Autoimmune disease arises when an individual's immune system mistakenly attacks and damages the body’s tissues. Autoimmune disease disproportionately affects women, with eighty percent of diagnosed patients being female. This research proposal aims to explore the relationship between psychological factors (e.g., stress, anxiety, depression) and the progression of autoimmune diseases. This poster will propose a detailed study to assess whether reducing psychological distress through cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) can slow disease progression. Cognitive behavioral therapy is a form of talk therapy to relieve symptoms of mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety, stress, or grief. Two hundred female patients diagnosed with an autoimmune disease (e.g., lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis) will participate in the study and be randomly assigned to either an experimental or a control group. The experimental group will receive medical care for their autoimmune disease as well as psychological support through a twelve-week CBT program, consisting of two sessions a week for one hour. The control group will only receive medical care. Clinicians who are conducting CBT will track psychological progress through session notes. Physicians for all participants will monitor disease progression through medical tests including blood work, x-rays, and imaging. To track disease progression, initial tests ordered by physicians will be completed before the twelve-week CBT program begins and follow-up tests will be completed after completion of the CBT program. This study will evaluate if psychological improvements from CBT are associated with slower autoimmune progression in women.