An individual participant data meta-analysis of psychological interventions for preventing depression relapse

This individual participant data meta-analysis (IPDMA) investigated the efficacy of psychological interventions in preventing major depressive disorder (MDD) relapse. Analyzing data from 14 randomized controlled trials (N = 1,720), the study found a substantially lower relapse risk (hazard ratio 0.60; 95% CI, 0.48–0.74) for those receiving psychological interventions compared to usual treatment, antidepressants, or evaluation-only controls. The number of previous depression episodes moderated the treatment effect, with greater efficacy observed for patients with three or more previous episodes. The results suggest that adding psychological interventions to current treatment is recommended for relapse prevention, with less intensive approaches potentially suitable for lower-risk patients.

Josefien J. F. Breedvelt, Eirini Karyotaki, Fiona C. Warren, Marlies E. Brouwer, Françoise Jermann, Fredrik Hollandare, Nicola Klein, Margo de Jonge, Daniel N. Klein, Norman Farb, Zindel Segal, Karolien E. M. Biesheuvel Leliefeld, Robin Jarrett, Jeffrey Vittengl, Michael Thase, Helen Ma, Willem Kuyken, Amanda J. Shallcross, Cornelis van Heeringen, Kristof Hoorelbeke, Ernst Koster, Mark Williams, Marloes J. Huijbers, Anne Speckens, Pim Cuijpers, Patricia van Oppen, Simon Gilbody, Claudi L. Bockting