ArticleAnnals of family medicine
Psychologic Treatment of Depression Compared With Pharmacotherapy and Combined Treatment in Primary Care: A Network Meta-Analysis.
Article in Annals of family medicine. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 23 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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
23 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 58 citations in OpenAlex.
- Exercise as medicine for depressive symptoms? A systematic review and meta-analysis with meta-regression.British journal of sports medicine · 2023Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Aerobic Exercise and Subthreshold Depressive Symptoms in Adolescents: Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Clinical Trial.JAMA network open · 2026Trial
- Lifestyle interventions and medication burden in older adults: insights from the Lifestyle Intervention and Independence for Elders (LIFE) and the Sarcopenia and Physical fRailty iN older people: multi-componenT Treatment strategies (SPRINTT) trials.European geriatric medicine · 2025Trial
- Impact of a Digital Decision Aid When Choosing Between Face-to-Face and Guided Internet-Based Psychological Interventions for Depression Among Chinese-Speaking Participants in Hong Kong: Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Trial
- Long-term depressive symptom trajectories and related baseline characteristics in primary care patients: Analysis of the PsicAP clinical trial.European psychiatry : the journal of the Association of European Psychiatrists · 2024Trial
- The Effects of Adding Art Therapy to Ongoing Antidepressant Treatment in Moderate-to-Severe Major Depressive Disorder: A Randomized Controlled Study.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Trial
- Exercise-Mediated Molecular Mechanisms of Antidepressant Effects: The Role of the Microbiota-Gut-Brain Axis.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- Effects of vanillic acid and exercise on early-life stress-induced anxiety-, depression-like behaviors and neuronal damage in rats.Molecular biology reports · 2026Article
- Predictors of depression outcomes among university students following brief smartphone-based interventions.Npj mental health research · 2026Article
- Effectiveness, acceptability, adherence, and safety of exergaming for depressive symptoms: a systematic review and meta-analysis.NPJ digital medicine · 2026Article
- Psychotherapy for older adults with depression: a narrative review.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2026Review
- Effect and acceptability of different exercise modes on adult patients with clinically diagnosed depression: a network meta-analysis.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Carbon Materials in Voltammetry: An Overview of Versatile Platforms for Antidepressant Drug Detection.Micromachines · 2025Review
- A systematic review and network meta-analysis of psychological, psychosocial, pharmacological, physical and combined treatments for adults with a new episode of depression.EClinicalMedicine · 2024Article
- Innovation at the Intersection: Emerging Translational Research in Neurology and Psychiatry.Cells · 2024Article
- Review
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Major Depressive Disorder: Navigating Depression Treatment in Traditional and Digital Settings with Insights from Current Research.Advances in experimental medicine and biology · 2024Review
- Should Marijuana Be Legalized: A Scoping Review of Associations of Marijuana and Depression.Cureus · 2023Article
- Availability of two essential medicines for mental health in Bangladesh, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti, Nepal, Malawi, Senegal, and Tanzania: Evidence from nationally representative samples of 7958 health facilities.Journal of global health · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 7 institutions in 5 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeMost patients with depression are treated by general practitioners, and most of those patients prefer psychotherapy over pharmacotherapy. No network meta-analyses have examined the effects of psychotherapy compared with pharmacotherapy, combined treatment, care as usual, and other control conditions among patients in primary care.
methodsWe conducted systematic searches of bibliographic databases to identify randomized trials comparing psychotherapy with pharmacotherapy, combined treatment, care as usual, waitlist, and pill placebo. The main outcome was treatment response (50% improvement of depressive symptoms from baseline to end point).
resultsA total of 58 studies with 9,301 patients were included. Both psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy were significantly more effective than care as usual (relative risk [RR] for response = 1.60; 95% CI, 1.40-1.83 and RR = 1.65; 95% CI, 1.35-2.03, respectively) and waitlist (RR = 2.35; 95% CI, 1.57-3.51 and RR = 2.43; 95% CI, 1.57-3.74, respectively) control groups. We found no significant differences between psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy (RR = 1.03; 95% CI, 0.88-1.22). The effects were significantly greater for combined treatment compared with psychotherapy alone (RR = 1.35; 95% CI, 1.00-1.81). The difference between combined treatment and pharmacotherapy became significant when limited to studies with low risk of bias and studies limited to cognitive behavior therapy.
conclusionsPsychotherapy is likely effective for the treatment of depression when compared with care as usual or waitlist, with effects comparable to those of pharmacotherapy. Combined treatment might be better than either psychotherapy or pharmacotherapy alone.
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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.