Objective To observe the therapeutic effect of painting combined with drug intervention in treatment of patients with anxiety disorder.

Methods A total of 83 patients with anxiety disorder were randomly divided into control group (n=41) and trail group (n=42). The control group was treated with conventional drugs, while the trail group was treated with painting therapy on the basis of drug therapy. The score of the 36-item Short-form Health Survey (SF-36), the Brief Scale of WHO Quality of Life (WHOQOL-BREF), therapeutic compliance rate, psychological statusthe Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD) and the Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAMA) scores and levels of serum brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and malondialdehyde (MDA) were compared between the two groups.

Results After treatment, the SF-36 score in the trail group was (83.12±5.11), which was significantly higher than (71.32±5.48) in the control group (P < 0.05). After treatment, score of each item and the total score of WHOQOL-BREF in both groups increased significantly, and the scores in the trail group were significantly higher than those in the control group (P < 0.05). After treatment, the scores of HAMA and HAMD in both groups decreased significantly, and the scores of HAMA and HAMD in the trail group were significantly lower than those in the control group (P < 0.05). The therapeutic compliance rate of the control group was 58.54%, which was significantly lower than 88.10% of the trail group (P < 0.05). After treatment, the levels of BDNF and MDA in the trail group were significantly lower than those in the control group, while the level of SOD was significantly higher than that in the control group (P < 0.05).

Conclusion Painting combined with drug intervention can effectively improve the anxiety symptoms of patients with anxiety disorder and enhance the therapeutic compliance rate and quality of life.