Disorders - Depressive Disorders
Calvete, E., Fernandez-Gonzalez, L., Orue, I., Echezarraga, A., Royuela-Colomer, E., Cortazar, N., Muga, J., Longa, M., Yeager, D. S.
Interest is increasing in developing universal interventions to prevent depression in adolescents that are brief enough to be
scaled up. The aim of this study was to test the effects on depressive symptoms, cognitive schemas, and Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal Axis Hormones
of an intervention focused on teaching an element of an incremental theory of personality, namely, the belief that people can change. We also
examined whether grade level moderated the effects of the intervention. A double-blind, randomized, controlled trial was conducted with 867 Spanish
adolescent participants (51.9% boys, Grades 8-10) randomly assigned to an incremental theory intervention (n=456) or an educational control
intervention (n=411). The adolescents completed measures of depressive symptoms and negative cognitive schemas at pretest, at 6-month follow-up, and
at 12-month follow-up. A subsample of 503 adolescents provided salivary samples for cortisol and DHEA-S testing. In 8th grade, adolescents who
received the incremental theory intervention displayed a greater decrease in depressive symptoms and cognitive schemas and a lower increase in DHEA-
S. Moreover, in adolescents who received the intervention, the rate of adolescents with high depression scores decreased by almost 18% whereas in the
control group, the rate increased by 37%. Surprisingly, the effects of the intervention were in the opposite direction among adolescents in 9th
grade. These data indicate that a brief universal intervention could prevent depressive symptoms under some conditions, but developmental
characteristics can moderate the effectiveness of this approach.
Journal of abnormal child
psychology., :
- Year: 2019
- Problem: Depressive Disorders
- Type: Randomised controlled trials
-
Stage: Universal prevention
-
Treatment and intervention: Complementary & Alternative
Interventions (CAM), Psychological Interventions
(any), Other Psychological Interventions, Creative expression: music, dance, drama, art
Carpena, M. X., Tavares, P. D. S., Menezes, C. B.
Background: Evidence shows high prevalence of depression and anxiety symptoms among university students. This study
investigated whether a meditation-based program would help reducing these symptoms in this population. Method(s): Non-randomized controlled trial
investigating the effects of a six-week focused meditation training on depression (Beck Depression Inventory) and anxiety (Beck Anxiety Inventory)
outcomes among university students. Participants were allocated into a meditation or waiting list control group. Assessment occurred pre and post
intervention and only for the meditation group at 6 and 12 months follow-up. General linear model for repeated measures evaluated the intervention
effect considering group and time factors, controlling for minor psychiatric disorders, gender and absence at meetings. Result(s): The meditation
group presented a reduction in depression and anxiety symptoms after intervention compared to controls. Among the meditation group, depression (at 6
months follow-up) and anxiety (at 6 and 12 months follow-up) scores were lower for those who continued practicing. Limitation(s): Non-randomization
and absence of daily practice record (precluding dose-response gradient evaluation). Conclusion(s): The meditation training was effective in reducing
depression and anxiety symptoms, but the maintanance of these reductions only occurred for those who continued meditating. Permanent meditation
programs may be an alternative for promoting mental health for university students. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V.
Journal of Affective
Disorders, 246 : 401-407
- Year: 2019
- Problem: Anxiety Disorders (any), Depressive Disorders
- Type: Controlled clinical trials
-
Stage: Universal prevention
-
Treatment and intervention: Complementary & Alternative
Interventions (CAM), Meditation
Ahmadi, K., Hazrati, M., Ahmadizadeh, M., Noohi,
S.
Objective: Not perceiving circadian shifts of sunlight due to living in enclosed environments may have deleterious
effects on mental health and plasma parameters. This study aimed to determine the effect of dim regulation on the submarine personnel of Iranian Navy
forces by radiating devices according to natural circadian sunlight shifts. Also, this study aimed to investigate the impact of mimicking sunlight
circadian by artificial radiance luminating devices on the serological and psychological measures of submarine personnel. Method(s): Participants
were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups in this non-randomized controlled trial. There were 26 participants in each group, and they
were all male aged 21-29 years. Both groups were living in the submarine underground hall, with 120 meters 2 area with constant radiance with the
same intensity. The experimental group had been given extra lighting devices with changing radiance intensity according to the natural sunlight
circadian cycles. Plasma melatonin levels and depression and anxiety scores were determined before and after the experiment for both groups.
Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) and Cattell's Anxiety Scale Questionnaire (IPAT) were used to measure depression and anxiety,
respectively. Result(s): Findings indicate that the plasma melatonin levels (-16.2+/-13.6 vs 8.0+/-9.3 mg/dL, respectively; p<0.001), depression
scores (-6+/-6 vs 3.9+/-5.4, respectively; p<0.001), and anxiety scores (-1+/-1.2 vs 0.73+/-1.04, respectively; p<0.001) significantly reduced in the
experimental group compared to the control group. Conclusion(s): Using radiance dimmers, with a radiance intensity regularity according to the
sunlight, is effective in improving psychiatric and plasma parameters and can be used in closed occupational environments such as underground
environments and submarine halls. Copyright © 2019 Tehran University of Medical Sciences. All rights reserved.
Iranian Journal of Psychiatry, 14(2) : 147-
153
- Year: 2019
- Problem: Anxiety Disorders (any), Depressive Disorders
- Type: Controlled clinical trials
-
Stage: At risk (indicated or selected prevention)
-
Treatment and intervention: Complementary & Alternative
Interventions (CAM), Bright light therapy
Rith-Najarian, L. R., Mesri, B., Park, A. L., Sun, M., Chavira, D. A., Chorpita, B. F.
Cognitive behavioral therapies (CBT)
for youth with anxiety, traumatic stress, and depression have demonstrated strong effects in individual studies and meta-analyses. Relatively more
attention has been given to posttreatment effects, though, and assessment of follow-up effects has been limited at the meta-analytic level. The
current meta-analysis aimed to (a) examine the effects of youth CBT at posttreatment, 1-month, 3-month, 6-month, 1-year, and long-term (2+ years)
follow-up as well as (b) identify research-related variables (e.g., measure respondent type) that relate to effects. Using a random effects model
across 110 child and adolescent CBT groups, within-group effect sizes were large at posttreatment (g = 1.24) and from 1-month through long-term
follow-up (g = 1.23-1.82), and effect sizes did not significantly differ by treatment target (i.e., anxiety, traumatic stress, depression). However,
availability of outcome data for effect sizes diminished across later follow-up assessments. Moreover, effect sizes were significantly associated
with outcome respondent type across assessment timing, with outcome measures from caregiver and youth respondents associated with smaller effect
sizes (B = -0.97, p < 0.001) relative to outcome measures that were evaluator-reported. Results provide initial support for the durability of
treatment effects for youth CBTs and highlight the importance of some confounding variables. Implications for improving treatment research standards
and prioritizing assessment of long-term follow-up assessment are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved)
Behavior Therapy, 50(1) : 225-
240
- Year: 2019
- Problem: Anxiety Disorders (any), Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Depressive Disorders
- Type: Systematic reviews
-
Stage: Disorder established (diagnosed disorder)
-
Treatment and intervention: Psychological Interventions
(any), Cognitive & behavioural therapies (CBT)
Towbin, K., Vidal-Ribas, P., Brotman, M. A., Pickles, A., Miller, K. V., Kaiser, A., Vitale, A. D., Engel, C., Overman, G. P., Davis, M., Lee, B., McNeil, C., Wheeler, W., Yokum, C. H., Haring, C. T., Roule, A., Wambach, C. G., Sharif-Askary,
B., Pine, D. S., Leibenluft, E., Stringaris, A.
OBJECTIVE: Despite the clinical importance of chronic and severe irritability, there is a paucity of
controlled trials for its pharmacological treatment. Here, we examine the effects of adding citalopram (CTP) to methylphenidate (MPH) in the
treatment of chronic severe irritability in youth using a double-blind randomized placebo-controlled design. METHOD(S): After a lead-in phase of open
treatment with stimulant, 53 youth meeting criteria for severe mood dysregulation (SMD) were randomly assigned to receive CTP or placebo (PBO) for 8
weeks. Forty-nine participants - 48 of them (98%) meeting disruptive mood dysregulation disorder (DMDD) criteria - were included in the intent-to-
treat analysis. The primary outcome measure was the proportion of response based on improvements of irritability at the 8th week of the trial.
RESULT(S): At the end of the trial, a significantly higher proportion of response was seen in those participants randomly assigned to CTP+MPH
compared to PBO+MPH (35% CTP+MPH vs. 6% PBO+MPH; OR=11.70, 95%CI 2.00, 68.16, p=0.006). However, there were no differences in functional impairment
between groups at the end of the trial. No differences were found in any adverse effect between treatment groups, and no trial participant exhibited
hypomanic or manic symptoms. CONCLUSION(S): Adjunctive CTP might be efficacious in the treatment of chronic severe irritability in youth resistant to
stimulant treatment alone. This trial was registered on ClinicalTrials.gov (Identifier: NCT00794040). Copyright © 2019. Published by Elsevier
Inc.
Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent
Psychiatry., :
- Year: 2019
- Problem: Depressive Disorders
- Type: Randomised controlled trials
-
Stage: Disorder established (diagnosed disorder)
-
Treatment and intervention: Biological Interventions
(any), Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), Antidepressants
(any), Other biological interventions
Morgan, A. J., Fischer, J. A. A., Hart, L. M., Kelly, C. M., Kitchener, B.
A., Reavley, N. J., Yap, M. B. H., Cvetkovski, S., Jorm, A. F.
Background: There is well-established evidence that Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training improves
knowledge about how to support someone developing a mental health problem, but less evidence that this support improves the mental health of the
recipient of aid. This randomised controlled trial aimed to assess the long-term effects of MHFA training of parents on the mental health of their
adolescent children. Method(s): 384 Australian parents of an adolescent aged 12-15 were randomised to receive either the 14-h Youth MHFA course or
the 15-h Australian Red Cross Provide First Aid course. Outcomes were assessed at baseline, 1-year, and 2-year follow-up in both parents and
adolescents. Primary outcomes were cases of adolescent mental health problems, and parental support towards their adolescent if they developed a
mental health problem, rated by the parent and adolescent. Secondary outcomes included parent knowledge about mental health problems, intentions and
confidence in supporting a young person, stigmatizing attitudes, and help-seeking for mental health problems. Result(s): Parent and adolescent
reports showed no significant difference between training groups in the proportion of cases of adolescents with a mental health problem over time (ps
>.05). There was also no significant difference between training groups in the quality of parental support provided to their adolescent at 1- or 2-
year follow-up (ps >.05). In contrast, some secondary outcomes showed benefits from the Youth MHFA training relative to the control, with increased
parental knowledge about mental health problems at 1-year (d = 0.43) and 2-year follow-up (d = 0.26), and increased confidence to help a young person
(d = 0.26) and intentions to provide effective support (d = 0.22) at 1-year follow-up. Conclusion(s): The study showed some improvements in mental
health literacy in training recipients, but could not detect changes in the mental health of adolescents and the support provided to them by their
parents if they had a mental health problem. However, there was a lack of power to detect primary outcome effects and therefore the question of
whether MHFA training leads to better outcomes in the recipients of aid remains to be further explored. Trial registration: ACTRN12612000390886,
registered retrospectively 5/4/2012. Copyright © 2019 The Author(s).
BMC Psychiatry, 19 (1) (no
pagination)(99) :
- Year: 2019
- Problem: Anxiety Disorders (any), Depressive Disorders
- Type: Randomised controlled trials
-
Stage: Universal prevention
-
Treatment and intervention: Psychological Interventions
(any), Psychoeducation
Bruijniks, S. J. E., Los, S. A., Huibers, M. J. H.
Experimental studies that
manipulate treatment procedures to investigate their direct effects on treatment processes and outcomes are necessary to find out the effective
elements and improve the effects of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for depression. The present study randomized mildly to severely depressed
participants into a procedure focused on cognitive therapy skill acquisition (CTSA; n = 27) or a control procedure focused on being exposed to
theories of automatic thinking (n = 25) and investigated the direct effects on cognitive therapy (CT) skill use, credibility of idiosyncratic
dysfunctional beliefs and strength of emotions. After the procedure, participants were exposed to a sad mood induction and given an assignment to
test their CT skills. Participants who received the CTSA procedure used more CT skills compared to participants that received the control procedure,
but there were no differences between conditions in the decrease of the credibility of idiosyncratic dysfunctional beliefs and strength of emotions.
However, in participants with mild levels of depression, those who underwent the CTSA procedure showed larger decrease in the credibility of their
most malleable belief (i.e. mostly automatic negative thoughts) compared to those who received the control procedure, but the significance of these
findings disappeared when controlling for differences in ratings of the procedures. Future experimental studies should focus on the effects of CT
skill training in the long term, the dose of the procedure and individual patient differences to find out under what circumstances the use of CT
skills can lead to a reduction in dysfunctional thinking and subsequent symptoms of depression. Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Ltd
Journal of
Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry., :
- Year: 2019
- Problem: Depressive Disorders
- Type: Randomised controlled trials
-
Stage: At risk (indicated or selected prevention)
-
Treatment and intervention: Psychological Interventions
(any), Cognitive & behavioural therapies (CBT), Skills training
Gunlicks-Stoessel, M., Mufson, L., Bernstein, G., Westervelt, A., Reigstad, K., Klimes-Dougan, B., Cullen, K., Murray, A., Vock,
D.
Objective: Practice parameters recommend systematic assessment of depression symptoms over the course of
treatment to inform treatment planning; however, there are currently no guidelines regarding how to use symptom monitoring to guide treatment
decisions for psychotherapy. The current study compared two time points (week 4 and week 8) for assessing symptoms during interpersonal psychotherapy
for depressed adolescents (IPT-A) and explored four algorithms that use the symptom assessments to select the subsequent treatment. Method: Forty
adolescents (aged 12-17 years) with a depression diagnosis began IPT-A with an initial treatment plan of 12 sessions delivered over 16 weeks.
Adolescents were randomized to a week 4 or week 8 decision point for considering a change in treatment. Insufficient responders at either time point
were randomized a second time to increased frequency of IPT-A (twice per week) or addition of fluoxetine. Measures were administered at baseline and
weeks 4, 8, 12, and 16. Results: The week 4 decision point for assessing response and implementing treatment augmentation for insufficient responders
was more efficacious for reducing depression symptoms than the week 8 decision point. There were significant differences between algorithms in
depression and psychosocial functioning outcomes. Conclusion: Therapists implementing IPT-A should routinely monitor depression symptoms and consider
augmenting treatment for insufficient responders as early as week 4 of treatment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved)
Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 58(1) : 80-91
- Year: 2019
- Problem: Depressive Disorders
- Type: Randomised controlled trials
-
Stage: Disorder established (diagnosed disorder)
-
Treatment and intervention: Biological Interventions
(any), Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), Service Delivery & Improvement, Psychological Interventions
(any), Interpersonal therapy (IPT), Other service delivery and improvement
interventions
Motter, J.N., Grinberg, A., Lieberman, D.H., Iqnaibi, W.B., Sneed, J.R.
Background: Computerized cognitive training (CCT) has previously improved cognition and mood in people with
depression. Existing research has not determined if the benefits following CCT are specific to the content of CCT or are a function of participation
in an engaging activity. In this double-blind randomized controlled trial, we tested whether executive functioning and processing speed (EF/PS)-
focused CCT could outperform verbal ability-focused CCT. Methods: 46 young adults with at least mild depressive symptoms (HDRS >= 10) were recruited
from the community and randomized to either EF/PS CCT or verbal ability CCT. Participants trained on their mobile device 5 days per week for 8 weeks.
Depressive severity, everyday functioning, and cognition were evaluating pre and post-training. Results: The EF/PS group had greater gains in
executive functioning and processing speed than the verbal group. There were no differences between groups in mood or everyday functioning
improvement, though the EF/PS obtained equivalent improvement with half the training time. Both groups saw significant improvements in self and
clinician-rated depressive severity, everyday functioning, and cognition. Limitations: There was no waitlist control condition and the sample
consisted of individuals with mild depressive symptoms and not diagnosed major depressive disorder. Conclusions: CCT is associated with improved
mood, cognition, and everyday functioning, though the type of CCT content does not differentially impact depressive symptom change. EF/PS focused CCT
has greater impact on processing speed and executive functioning and leads to equivalent mood/everyday functioning gains as verbal-focused CCT more
efficiently. Common factors remain plausible drivers of CCT's therapeutic effects. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved)
Journal of Affective Disorders, 245 : 28-37
- Year: 2019
- Problem: Depressive Disorders
- Type: Randomised controlled trials
-
Stage: At risk (indicated or selected prevention)
-
Treatment and intervention: Service Delivery & Improvement, Psychological Interventions
(any), Cognitive remediation
therapy, Technology, interventions delivered using technology (e.g. online, SMS)
Nejati, V., Fathi, E., Shahidi, S., Salehinejad, M.A.
Depressed individuals interpret
ambiguous information more negatively and this has been suggested a central component in cognitive models of depression. In this study we
investigated the effectiveness of the interpretation modification training on modifying interpretation bias in depression and its association with
symptoms reduction. In a double-blind, randomized controlled design, twenty-two depressed individuals (mean age = 19.86, SD = 1.16) were randomly
assigned to the experimental and control groups. They completed 10 sessions of cognitive training with the Ambiguous Hallmark Program (AHP) over 5
weeks. Participants' interpretation bias and their depressive scores were assessed and compared before and after the intervention. Results showed
that the AHP significantly decreased negative interpretation in the experimental group. Additionally, a significant decrease in the depressive scores
was also observed in the intervention group compared to the control group. We also observed the transfer of learning from the AHP training to another
interpretation bias task. The AHP can significantly modify negative interpretations and symptoms in depression providing preliminary supporting
evidence for its clinical application especially in mild-to-moderate depression. Improved cognitive control over emotional information and unbiased
attention to them could explain effects of the Interpretation modification paradigm. Further studies need to examine the efficacy of the AHP as a
potential cognitive intervention in depression. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved)
Asian Journal of
Psychiatry, 39 : 23-28
- Year: 2019
- Problem: Depressive Disorders
- Type: Randomised controlled trials
-
Stage: At risk (indicated or selected prevention)
-
Treatment and intervention: Psychological Interventions
(any), Cognitive remediation
therapy, Attention/cognitive bias
modification
Idsoe, T., Keles, S., Olseth, A. Ro, Ogden, T.
Background: The group-based CBT intervention, the Adolescent Coping
with Depression Course (ACDC), has previously been evaluated within a quasi-experimental design, showing reduction in depressive symptoms compared to
a benchmark of similar studies. The aim of our study was to investigate the effectiveness of ACDC within a randomized controlled (RCT) design.
Method(s): Thirty-five course/control leaders randomly assigned to provide ACDC or usual care (UC) recruited 133 adolescents allocated to ACDC and 95
to UC. ACDC participants received eight weekly sessions and two follow-up sessions about 3 and 6 weeks after the last session. UC participants
received usual care as implemented at the different sites. Depressive symptoms were measured with the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression
Scale for adolescents (CES-D), perfectionism with the revised version of the Dysfunctional Attitude Scale (DAS), and rumination with the revised
version of the Ruminative Responses Scale (RRS). Attrition was considered missing at random (MAR) and handled with a full information maximum
likelihood (FIML) procedure. Result(s): Intention to treat analysis (ITT), including baseline scores and predictors of missing data as control or
auxiliary variables, showed a small to medium reduction in depressive symptoms for the ACDC group compared to UC (d = -.31). Changes in perfectionism
and rumination in favor of the intervention were also significant. Sensitivity analyses confirmed the findings from the ITT analyses. Conclusion(s):
The current study supports the effectiveness of this group-based CBT intervention. The intervention can hopefully result in clinically significant
reductions in symptoms associated with depression among adolescents. Trial registration: ISRCTN registry ISRCTN19700389. Registered 6 October 2015.
Copyright © 2019 The Author(s).
BMC Psychiatry, 19 (1) (no
pagination)(155) :
- Year: 2019
- Problem: Depressive Disorders
- Type: Randomised controlled trials
-
Stage: At risk (indicated or selected prevention), Disorder established (diagnosed disorder)
-
Treatment and intervention: Psychological Interventions
(any), Cognitive & behavioural therapies (CBT)
Mahdi, M., Jhawar, S., Bennett, S. D., Shafran, R.
Background: High rates of comorbidity among
children and adolescents with anxiety disorders are widely documented. To date the question of what happens to comorbid disorders upon treatment of
the primary anxiety disorder has received little attention and the optimal treatment strategy for cases with comorbidity remains to be determined.
Objective(s): This review examines the literature on the impact of disorder-specific CBT on comorbid mood and behavioral disorders in young people
with a primary anxiety disorder. Search Method(s): PsycINFO, EMBASE, MEDLINE and the Cochrane Library were systematically searched using predefined
selection criteria. Two reviewers independently assessed the relevance of studies, obtained data using a data extraction form and undertook
methodological quality analysis. Result(s): Ten studies (1647 children in total) were included in the review. All studies demonstrated positive
outcomes for CBT focused on the primary anxiety disorder on untargeted comorbid mood and/or externalising disorders. Conclusion(s): Findings suggest
CBT focused on the primary anxiety disorder successfully reduces comorbid mood and/or behavioral diagnoses and symptoms of these co-occurring
clinical diagnoses. Therefore, the implementation of disorder-specific CBT for the primary disorder is a valid alternative to transdiagnostic
interventions and is recommended in cases of comorbidity in children and adolescents with a primary anxiety disorder. Copyright © 2019
Journal of Affective Disorders, 251 : 141-148
- Year: 2019
- Problem: Anxiety Disorders (any), Depressive Disorders
- Type: Systematic reviews
-
Stage: Disorder established (diagnosed disorder)
-
Treatment and intervention: Psychological Interventions
(any), Cognitive & behavioural therapies (CBT)