RT Journal Article
T1 Cognitive, behavioural or cognitive-behavioural self-help interventions for subclinical depression in older adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
A1 Corpas, Jorge
A1 Gilbody, Simon
A1 McMillan, Dean
K1 Meta-analysis
K1 Older adults
K1 Self-help
K1 Subclinical depression
K1 Systematic review
AB Subclinical depression is a risk factor for the development of major depression in older adults. We aimed to determine the effectiveness of pure self-help or self-help with minimal support to reduce depressive symptoms and to prevent the onset of major depression in this population. This was a systematic review and meta-analysis of trials that used self-administrated cognitive, behavioural or cognitive-behavioural interventions for older adults with subclinical depression compared to control groups. Medline, Embase, PsycInfo and Cochrane databases were searched for relevant studies. We analysed eight trials involving 1449 participants. A small but significant effect favouring the intervention was found at short-term [d = 0.33; 95% CI (Confidence Interval): 0.20-0.47] and at long-term (d = 0.22; 95% CI: 0.04-0.40) for depressive symptoms. None of the studies looked at the preventive effect of self-help interventions in reducing the probability of a subsequent diagnosis of major depression. The low number of studies meant that it was not possible to test for publication bias. The absence of pre-published protocols for many of the studies meant that there is a possibility of selective reporting bias for some of the primary studies. There is some evidence that cognitive-behavioural self-help interventions may reduce depressive symptoms in older adults with subclinical depression. However, no study examined whether the intervention had a preventative effect in reducing the likelihood of a subsequent diagnosis of major depression.
PB Elsevier
YR 2022
FD 2022-04-13
LK http://hdl.handle.net/10668/22288
UL http://hdl.handle.net/10668/22288
LA en
NO Corpas J, Gilbody S, McMillan D. Cognitive, behavioural or cognitive-behavioural self-help interventions for subclinical depression in older adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis. J Affect Disord. 2022 Jul 1;308:384-39
DS RISalud
RD Apr 17, 2025