ReviewBMJ open2019
Complementary therapies for clinical depression: an overview of systematic reviews.
Review in BMJ open, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 42 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
42 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 126 citations in OpenAlex.
- Efficacy of vitamin D supplementation in patients diagnosed with depression: a dose-response meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Pooled it
- Yoga for Depressive Disorder: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Depression and anxiety · 2024Pooled it
- The efficacy and safety of complementary and alternative medicine for depression: an umbrella review.Revista brasileira de psiquiatria (Sao Paulo, Brazil : 1999) · 2024Pooled it
- Complementary medicine in psychology practice: an analysis of Australian psychology guidelines and a comparison with other psychology associations from English speaking countries.BMC complementary medicine and therapies · 2022Pooled it
- Omega-3 fatty acids for depression in adults.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2021Pooled it
- Trial
- Representation and outcomes of individuals with major depression in routine care who are ineligible for randomized controlled trials: a nationwide register-based study.World psychiatry : official journal of the World Psychiatric Association (WPA) · 2026Article
- Use and Perceived Helpfulness of Different Intervention Strategies in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Depression.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Article
- "Attacking" the Gut-Brain Axis with Psychobiotics: An Umbrella Review of Depressive and Anxiety Symptoms.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Article
- Unraveling the Complex Interplay Between Neuroinflammation and Depression: A Comprehensive Review.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- A systematic review on the use of phytotherapy in managing clinical depression.BioImpacts : BI · 2025Review
- Models of Integrated Acute Care for Older Adult Inpatients That Incorporate Integrative Health: An Integrative Review.Journal of multidisciplinary healthcare · 2025Review
- Mind-Body Medicine in the Treatment of Depression: A Narrative Review of Efficacy, Safety and Mechanisms.Current psychiatry reports · 2024Review
- Article
- Spiritual Connectivity Intervention for Individuals with Depressive Symptoms: A Randomized Control Trial.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Analysis of MicroRNA-Transcription Factors Co-Regulatory Network Linking Depression and Vitamin D Deficiency.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Article
- Practice recommendations and referrals, perceptions of efficacy and risk, and self-rated knowledge regarding complementary medicine: a survey of Australian psychologists.BMC complementary medicine and therapies · 2024Article
- An international, cross-sectional survey of psychiatry researchers and clinicians: perceptions of complementary, alternative, and integrative medicine.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2024Article
- Cool the Inflamed Brain: A Novel Anti-inflammatory Strategy for the Treatment of Major Depressive Disorder.Current neuropharmacology · 2024Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesAs clinical practice guidelines vary widely in their search strategies and recommendations of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) for depression, this overview aimed at systematically summarising the level 1 evidence on CAM for patients with a clinical diagnosis of depression.
methodsPubMed, PsycInfo and Central were searched for meta-analyses of randomised controlled clinical trials (RCTs) until 30 June 2018. Outcomes included depression severity, response, remission, relapse and adverse events. The quality of evidence was assessed according to Grades of Recommendation, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) considering the methodological quality of the RCTs and meta-analyses, inconsistency, indirectness, imprecision of the evidence and the potential risk of publication bias.
resultsThe literature search revealed 26 meta-analyses conducted between 2002 and 2018 on 1-49 RCTs in major, minor and seasonal depression. In patients with mild to moderate major depression, moderate quality evidence suggested the efficacy of St. John's wort towards placebo and its comparative effectiveness towards standard antidepressants for the treatment for depression severity and response rates, while St. John's wort caused significant less adverse events. In patients with recurrent major depression, moderate quality evidence showed that mindfulness-based cognitive therapy was superior to standard antidepressant drug treatment for the prevention of depression relapse. Other CAM evidence was considered as having low or very low quality.
conclusionsThe effects of all but two CAM treatments found in studies on clinical depressed patients based on low to very low quality of evidence. The evidence has to be downgraded mostly due to avoidable methodological flaws of both the original RCTs and meta-analyses not following the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials and Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. Further research is needed.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.