SynthesisBMJ open2021
Psychological factors for the onset of depression: a meta-analysis of prospective studies.
Synthesis in BMJ open, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers, 1 of them a synthesis 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.
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Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Regulatory Role of PFC Corticotropin-Releasing Factor System in Stress-Associated Depression Disorders: A Systematic Review.Cellular and molecular neurobiology · 2023Pooled it
- When Trauma, Personality, and Depressivity Converge: From Brain Signatures to Precision Prevention?Biological psychiatry · 2026Article
- Longitudinal Associations Between Emotional Abuse, Family Functioning, and Depressive Symptoms in Adolescence.Journal of clinical psychology · 2026Article
- New Strategies for Treating Depression with Chinese Medicine: Focusing on NLRP3-Mediated Mechanisms.Chinese journal of integrative medicine · 2026Review
- Inflammation-Induced Temperature Shifts and Mitochondrial Function: Rethinking Biomarker Interpretation in Depressive Disorders.Neuroimmunomodulation · 2026Article
- Multimodal prediction of future depressive symptoms in adolescents.BMC psychiatry · 2025Article
- Multimodal Prediction of Future Depressive Symptoms in Adolescents.Research square · 2025Article
- Prevalence and risk factors for depression in somatic symptom disorder patients: a cross-sectional clinical study in China.BMC psychiatry · 2025Article
- Psychiatric Characteristics, Symptoms of Insomnia and Depression, Emotion Regulation, and Social Activity among Swiss Medical Students.Journal of clinical medicine · 2024Article
- Dose-response association of handgrip strength and risk of depression: a longitudinal study of 115 601 older adults from 24 countries.The British journal of psychiatry : the journal of mental science · 2023Article
- Active learning-based systematic reviewing using switching classification models: the case of the onset, maintenance, and relapse of depressive disorders.Frontiers in research metrics and analytics · 2023Article
- Exosomes may be the carrier of acupuncture treatment for major depressive disorder.Frontiers in behavioral neuroscience · 2023Review
- Decreased step count prior to the first visit for MDD treatment: a retrospective, observational, longitudinal cohort study of continuously measured walking activity obtained from smartphones.Frontiers in public health · 2023Observational
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesA comprehensive overview of the evidence for factors derived from leading psychological theories of the onset of major depressive disorder (MDD) that underpin psychological interventions is scarce . We aimed to systematically investigate the prospective evidence for factors derived from the behavioural, cognitive, diathesis-stress, psychodynamic and personality-based theories for the first onset of MDD.
designSystematic review and meta-analysis.
methodsDatabases PubMed, PsycINFO, Cochrane and Embase and published articles were systematically searched from inception up to August 2019. Prospective, longitudinal studies that investigated theory-derived factors before the first onset of MDD, established by a clinical interview, were included. Screening, selection and data extraction of articles were conducted by two screeners. The Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation criteria were used to estimate level of confidence and risk of bias. Meta-analysis was conducted using random-effects models and mixed-method subgroup analyses. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: Effect size of a factor predicting the onset of MDD (OR, risk ratio or HR).
resultsFrom 42 133 original records published to August 2019, 26 studies met the inclusion criteria. Data were only available for the cognitive (n=6585) and personality-based (n=14 394) theories. Factors derived from cognitive theories and personality-based theories were related to increased odds of MDD onset (pooled OR=2.12, 95% CI: 1.12 to 4.00; pooled OR=2.43, 95% CI: 1.41 to 4.19). Publication bias and considerable heterogeneity were observed.
conclusionThere is some evidence that factors derived from cognitive and personality-based theories indeed predict the onset of MDD (ie, dysfunctional attitudes and negative emotionality). There were no studies that prospectively studied factors derived from psychodynamic theories and not enough studies to examine the robust evidence for behavioural and diathesis-stress theories. Overall, the prospective evidence for psychological factors of MDD is limited, and more research on the leading psychological theories is needed. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42017073975.
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