BACKGROUND:Major depressive disorder (MDD) is associated with a decrease in quality of life (QOL) and well-being. Therefore, researchers are increasingly complementing traditional symptom measurements with QOL and well-being assessments in order to broaden the evaluation of treatment outcomes. The current prospective study investigated the effectiveness of supportive-expressive therapy (SET), antidepressant medication (MED) and placebo (PBO) in improving QOL and well-being in patients with MDD. METHODS: Data from a randomized controlled trial (trial registration: NCT00043550) comparing SET, MED and PBO for the treatment of depression (N=156) were analyzed. Outcome measures addressed patients' QOL and physical and mental well-being. Changes in outcomes were assessed across and between treatments using linear mixed models. RESULTS: Across treatments, patients showed significant improvement in QOL and mental and physical health measures, as well as a reduction in interpersonal distress and depressive and anxiety symptoms (p≤.002 for all measures). Those changes were not only the products of a decrease in depressive symptoms, but also predicted subsequent reduction in symptoms. No significant differences were found between the three treatment conditions. LIMITATIONS: The limitation is the study's moderate sample size. CONCLUSIONS: Current treatments for depression significantly improve patients' QOL and well-being. No significant differences were found between the three conditions examined in this study. The current study highlights the role of well-being in predicting subsequent symptomatic change.
RCT Entities:
BACKGROUND: Major depressive disorder (MDD) is associated with a decrease in quality of life (QOL) and well-being. Therefore, researchers are increasingly complementing traditional symptom measurements with QOL and well-being assessments in order to broaden the evaluation of treatment outcomes. The current prospective study investigated the effectiveness of supportive-expressive therapy (SET), antidepressant medication (MED) and placebo (PBO) in improving QOL and well-being in patients with MDD. METHODS: Data from a randomized controlled trial (trial registration: NCT00043550) comparing SET, MED and PBO for the treatment of depression (N=156) were analyzed. Outcome measures addressed patients' QOL and physical and mental well-being. Changes in outcomes were assessed across and between treatments using linear mixed models. RESULTS: Across treatments, patients showed significant improvement in QOL and mental and physical health measures, as well as a reduction in interpersonal distress and depressive and anxiety symptoms (p≤.002 for all measures). Those changes were not only the products of a decrease in depressive symptoms, but also predicted subsequent reduction in symptoms. No significant differences were found between the three treatment conditions. LIMITATIONS: The limitation is the study's moderate sample size. CONCLUSIONS: Current treatments for depression significantly improve patients' QOL and well-being. No significant differences were found between the three conditions examined in this study. The current study highlights the role of well-being in predicting subsequent symptomatic change.
Authors: Jay C Fournier; Robert J DeRubeis; Steven D Hollon; Sona Dimidjian; Jay D Amsterdam; Richard C Shelton; Jan Fawcett Journal: JAMA Date: 2010-01-06 Impact factor: 56.272
Authors: Sigal Zilcha-Mano; Harold Chui; Tohar Dolev; Kevin S McCarthy; Ulrike Dinger; Jacques P Barber Journal: J Affect Disord Date: 2015-12-31 Impact factor: 4.839