The efficacy of psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy in treating depressive and anxiety disorders: a meta-analysis of direct comparisons
TL;DR: A meta‐analysis of studies in which psychotherapy and antidepressant medication were directly compared in the treatment of depressive and anxiety disorders found that pharmacotherapy was significantly more efficacious than psychotherapy in dysthymia, and psychotherapy wasificantly more efficacity than pharmacotherapy in obsessive‐compulsive disorder.
About: This article is published in World Psychiatry.The article was published on 2013-06-01 and is currently open access. It has received 378 citations till now. The article focuses on the topics: Anxiety & Pharmacotherapy.
Citations
More filters
Harvard University1, King's College London2, University of Cape Town3, Makerere University4, Johns Hopkins University5, University of Washington6, Emory University7, Carter Center8, University of London9, World Psychiatric Association10, University of Melbourne11, Al-Quds University12, Rutgers University13, Peking University14, University of Amsterdam15, Dow University of Health Sciences16, University of Health Sciences Lahore17, University of Ibadan18, University of Liverpool19, Public Health Foundation of India20, Wellcome Trust21, University of Oxford22, Groote Schuur Hospital23, South African Medical Research Council24
1,356 citations
TL;DR: Results indicate that smartphone devices are a promising self‐management tool for depression, and future research should aim to distil which aspects of these technologies produce beneficial effects, and for which populations.
590 citations
VU University Amsterdam1, University of Amsterdam2, University of New South Wales3, City University London4, University of York5, Karolinska Institutet6, University of Lübeck7, University of Hamburg8, University of Nottingham9, Australian National University10, King's College London11, University of Bern12, Tilburg University13
TL;DR: In this article, the effect of self-guided internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy (iCBT) in treating adults with depressive symptoms compared with controls and evaluate the moderating effects of treatment outcome and response.
Abstract: IMPORTANCE Self-guided internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy (iCBT) has the potential to increase access and availability of evidence-based therapy and reduce the cost of depression treatment. OBJECTIVES To estimate the effect of self-guided iCBT in treating adults with depressive symptoms compared with controls and evaluate the moderating effects of treatment outcome and response. DATA SOURCES A total of 13 384 abstracts were retrieved through a systematic literature search in PubMed, Embase, PsycINFO, and Cochrane Library from database inception to January 1, 2016. STUDY SELECTION Randomized clinical trials in which self-guided iCBT was compared with a control (usual care, waiting list, or attention control) in individuals with symptoms of depression. DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS Primary authors provided individual participant data from 3876 participants from 13 of 16 eligible studies. Missing data were handled using multiple imputations. Mixed-effects models with participants nested within studies were used to examine treatment outcomes and moderators. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Outcomes included the Beck Depression Inventory, Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression Scale, and 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire scores. Scales were standardized across the pool of the included studies. RESULTS Of the 3876 study participants, the mean (SD) age was 42.0 (11.7) years, 2531 (66.0%) of 3832 were female, 1368 (53.1%) of 2574 completed secondary education, and 2262 (71.9%) of 3146 were employed. Self-guided iCBT was significantly more effective than controls on depressive symptoms severity (s =-0.21; Hedges g = 0.27) and treatment response (s = 0.53; odds ratio, 1.95; 95% CI, 1.52-2.50; number needed to treat, 8). Adherence to treatment was associated with lower depressive symptoms (s =-0.19; P =.001) and greater response to treatment (s = 0.90; P <.001). None of the examined participant and study-level variables moderated treatment outcomes. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE Self-guided iCBT is effective in treating depressive symptoms. The use of meta-analyses of individual participant data provides substantial evidence for clinical and policy decision making because self-guided iCBT can be considered as an evidence-based first-step approach in treating symptoms of depression. Several limitations of the iCBT should be addressed before it can be disseminated into routine care.
445 citations
TL;DR: Self-guided iCBT was significantly more effective than controls on depressive symptoms severity and greater response to treatment and can be considered as an evidence-based first-step approach in treating symptoms of depression.
Abstract: Importance: Self-guided internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy (iCBT) has the potential to increase access and availability of evidence-based therapy and reduce the cost of depression treatment.
Objectives: To estimate the effect of self-guided iCBT in treating adults with depressive symptoms compared with controls and evaluate the moderating effects of treatment outcome and response.
Data Sources: A total of 13 384 abstracts were retrieved through a systematic literature search in PubMed, Embase, PsycINFO, and Cochrane Library from database inception to January 1, 2016.
Study Selection: Randomized clinical trials in which self-guided iCBT was compared with a control (usual care, waiting list, or attention control) in individuals with symptoms of depression.
Data Extraction and Synthesis: Primary authors provided individual participant data from 3876 participants from 13 of 16 eligible studies. Missing data were handled using multiple imputations. Mixed-effects models with participants nested within studies were used to examine treatment outcomes and moderators.
Main Outcomes and Measures: Outcomes included the Beck Depression Inventory, Center for Epidemiological Studies–Depression Scale, and 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire scores. Scales were standardized across the pool of the included studies.
Results: Of the 3876 study participants, the mean (SD) age was 42.0 (11.7) years, 2531 (66.0%) of 3832 were female, 1368 (53.1%) of 2574 completed secondary education, and 2262 (71.9%) of 3146 were employed. Self-guided iCBT was significantly more effective than controls on depressive symptoms severity (β = −0.21; Hedges g = 0.27) and treatment response (β = 0.53; odds ratio, 1.95; 95% CI, 1.52-2.50; number needed to treat, 8). Adherence to treatment was associated with lower depressive symptoms (β = −0.19; P = .001) and greater response to treatment (β = 0.90; P < .001). None of the examined participant and study-level variables moderated treatment outcomes.
Conclusions and Relevance: Self-guided iCBT is effective in treating depressive symptoms. The use of meta-analyses of individual participant data provides substantial evidence for clinical and policy decision making because self-guided iCBT can be considered as an evidence-based first-step approach in treating symptoms of depression. Several limitations of the iCBT should be addressed before it can be disseminated into routine care.
431 citations
TL;DR: Psychotherapy contributes to improvement in depressed patients, but improvement in control conditions is also considerable, and less than half of the patients meeting criteria for response and remission after psychotherapy are found.
362 citations
References
More filters
TL;DR: A new quantity is developed, I 2, which the authors believe gives a better measure of the consistency between trials in a meta-analysis, which is susceptible to the number of trials included in the meta- analysis.
Abstract: Cochrane Reviews have recently started including the quantity I 2 to help readers assess the consistency of the results of studies in meta-analyses. What does this new quantity mean, and why is assessment of heterogeneity so important to clinical practice?
Systematic reviews and meta-analyses can provide convincing and reliable evidence relevant to many aspects of medicine and health care.1 Their value is especially clear when the results of the studies they include show clinically important effects of similar magnitude. However, the conclusions are less clear when the included studies have differing results. In an attempt to establish whether studies are consistent, reports of meta-analyses commonly present a statistical test of heterogeneity. The test seeks to determine whether there are genuine differences underlying the results of the studies (heterogeneity), or whether the variation in findings is compatible with chance alone (homogeneity). However, the test is susceptible to the number of trials included in the meta-analysis. We have developed a new quantity, I 2, which we believe gives a better measure of the consistency between trials in a meta-analysis.
Assessment of the consistency of effects across studies is an essential part of meta-analysis. Unless we know how consistent the results of studies are, we cannot determine the generalisability of the findings of the meta-analysis. Indeed, several hierarchical systems for grading evidence state that the results of studies must be consistent or homogeneous to obtain the highest grading.2–4
Tests for heterogeneity are commonly used to decide on methods for combining studies and for concluding consistency or inconsistency of findings.5 6 But what does the test achieve in practice, and how should the resulting P values be interpreted?
A test for heterogeneity examines the null hypothesis that all studies are evaluating the same effect. The usual test statistic …
45,105 citations
"The efficacy of psychotherapy and p..." refers background in this paper
...A value of 0% indicates no observed heterogeneity, and higher values indicate increasing heterogeneity, with 25% as low, 50% as moderate, and 75% as high heterogeneity (22)....
[...]
Journal Article•
17,222 citations
"The efficacy of psychotherapy and p..." refers methods in this paper
...We evaluated the quality of included studies using the Cochrane Collaboration “risk of bias” assessment tool (20)....
[...]
TL;DR: Lifetime prevalence estimates are higher in recent cohorts than in earlier cohorts and have fairly stable intercohort differences across the life course that vary in substantively plausible ways among sociodemographic subgroups.
Abstract: Context Little is known about lifetime prevalence or age of onset of DSM-IV disorders. Objective To estimate lifetime prevalence and age-of-onset distributions of DSM-IV disorders in the recently completed National Comorbidity Survey Replication. Design and Setting Nationally representative face-to-face household survey conducted between February 2001 and April 2003 using the fully structured World Health Organization World Mental Health Survey version of the Composite International Diagnostic Interview. Participants Nine thousand two hundred eighty-two English-speaking respondents aged 18 years and older. Main Outcome Measures Lifetime DSM-IV anxiety, mood, impulse-control, and substance use disorders. Results Lifetime prevalence estimates are as follows: anxiety disorders, 28.8%; mood disorders, 20.8%; impulse-control disorders, 24.8%; substance use disorders, 14.6%; any disorder, 46.4%. Median age of onset is much earlier for anxiety (11 years) and impulse-control (11 years) disorders than for substance use (20 years) and mood (30 years) disorders. Half of all lifetime cases start by age 14 years and three fourths by age 24 years. Later onsets are mostly of comorbid conditions, with estimated lifetime risk of any disorder at age 75 years (50.8%) only slightly higher than observed lifetime prevalence (46.4%). Lifetime prevalence estimates are higher in recent cohorts than in earlier cohorts and have fairly stable intercohort differences across the life course that vary in substantively plausible ways among sociodemographic subgroups. Conclusions About half of Americans will meet the criteria for a DSM-IV disorder sometime in their life, with first onset usually in childhood or adolescence. Interventions aimed at prevention or early treatment need to focus on youth.
17,213 citations
"The efficacy of psychotherapy and p..." refers background in this paper
...Depressive and anxiety disorders are highly prevalent (1,2) and associated with high levels of service use, a considerable disease burden (3), substantial economic costs (4–6), and a significant loss of quality of life for patients and their relatives (7,8)....
[...]
TL;DR: These projections represent a set of three visions of the future for population health, based on certain explicit assumptions, which enable us to appreciate better the implications for health and health policy of currently observed trends, and the likely impact of fairly certain future trends.
Abstract: Background Global and regional projections of mortality and burden of disease by cause for the years 2000, 2010, and 2030 were published by Murray and Lopez in 1996 as part of the Global Burden of Disease project. These projections, which are based on 1990 data, continue to be widely quoted, although they are substantially outdated; in particular, they substantially underestimated the spread of HIV/AIDS. To address the widespread demand for information on likely future trends in global health, and thereby to support international health policy and priority setting, we have prepared new projections of mortality and burden of disease to 2030 starting from World Health Organization estimates of mortality and burden of disease for 2002. This paper describes the methods, assumptions, input data, and results. Methods and Findings Relatively simple models were used to project future health trends under three scenarios—baseline, optimistic, and pessimistic—based largely on projections of economic and social development, and using the historically observed relationships of these with cause-specific mortality rates. Data inputs have been updated to take account of the greater availability of death registration data and the latest available projections for HIV/AIDS, income, human capital, tobacco smoking, body mass index, and other inputs. In all three scenarios there is a dramatic shift in the distribution of deaths from younger to older ages and from communicable, maternal, perinatal, and nutritional causes to noncommunicable disease causes. The risk of death for children younger than 5 y is projected to fall by nearly 50% in the baseline scenario between 2002 and 2030. The proportion of deaths due to noncommunicable disease is projected to rise from 59% in 2002 to 69% in 2030. Global HIV/AIDS deaths are projected to rise from 2.8 million in 2002 to 6.5 million in 2030 under the baseline scenario, which assumes coverage with antiretroviral drugs reaches 80% by 2012. Under the optimistic scenario, which also assumes increased prevention activity, HIV/AIDS deaths are projected to drop to 3.7 million in 2030. Total tobacco-attributable deaths are projected to rise from 5.4 million in 2005 to 6.4 million in 2015 and 8.3 million in 2030 under our baseline scenario. Tobacco is projected to kill 50% more people in 2015 than HIV/AIDS, and to be responsible for 10% of all deaths globally. The three leading causes of burden of disease in 2030 are projected to include HIV/AIDS, unipolar depressive disorders, and ischaemic heart disease in the baseline and pessimistic scenarios. Road traffic accidents are the fourth leading cause in the baseline scenario, and the third leading cause ahead of ischaemic heart disease in the optimistic scenario. Under the baseline scenario, HIV/AIDS becomes the leading cause of burden of disease in middle- and low-income countries by 2015. Conclusions These projections represent a set of three visions of the future for population health, based on certain explicit assumptions. Despite the wide uncertainty ranges around future projections, they enable us to appreciate better the implications for health and health policy of currently observed trends, and the likely impact of fairly certain future trends, such as the ageing of the population, the continued spread of HIV/AIDS in many regions, and the continuation of the epidemiological transition in developing countries. The results depend strongly on the assumption that future mortality trends in poor countries will have a relationship to economic and social development similar to those that have occurred in the higher-income countries.
10,090 citations
01 Jan 2013
9,769 citations