ArticlePsychological medicine2023
The prevalence and risk of developing major depression among individuals with subthreshold depression in the general population.
Article in Psychological medicine, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 95 papers, 7 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
95 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 137 citations in OpenAlex.
- Efficacy of different exercise interventions on cognitive function in adults with major depressive disorder and subthreshold depression: a systematic review with pairwise and network meta-analyses.European archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience · 2026Pooled it
- The Association Between Nut Consumption and Risk of Depressive Symptoms: A Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies.Nutrients · 2025Pooled it
- Exploration of brain imaging biomarkers in subthreshold depression patients across different ages: an ALE meta-analysis based on MRI studies.BMC psychiatry · 2025Pooled it
- Long-Term Effect of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in Managing Subclinical Depression: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Depression and anxiety · 2025Pooled it
- Prevalence of Antidepressant Prescriptions for Community-Dwelling Adults Diagnosed with Depressive Disorder in the UK: A Systematic Review.The Psychiatric quarterly · 2024Pooled it
- The Effect of Walking on Depressive and Anxiety Symptoms: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.JMIR public health and surveillance · 2024Pooled it
- Structural and functional brain alterations in subthreshold depression: A multimodal coordinate-based meta-analysis.Human brain mapping · 2024Pooled it
- Trial
- Acupuncture for subthreshold depression: a randomized controlled trial.BMC complementary medicine and therapies · 2025Trial
- Trial
- Cognitive behavioral therapy skills via a smartphone app for subthreshold depression among adults in the community: the RESiLIENT randomized controlled trial.Nature medicine · 2025Trial
- A randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled clinical trial on Lactobacillus-containing cultured milk drink as adjuvant therapy for depression in irritable bowel syndrome.Scientific reports · 2024Trial
- Eye-Tracking Phenotypes Across the Depressive Spectrum: Joint Modeling of Diagnostic Group and Symptom Severity.CNS neuroscience & therapeutics · 2026Article
- Impacts of digital third-wave interventions for adults on wellbeing and mental health outcomes: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.PLOS digital health · 2026Article
- Digital Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Chinese Adolescents with Depressive Symptoms (CADS-D): protocol for a randomized controlled trial.BMC psychiatry · 2026Article
- Psychological Assessment of Patients With Apical Periodontitis and Caries: A Case-Control Study.International endodontic journal · 2026Observational
- Clinical evidence on integrated Chinese-Western medicine for depressive disorder.Integrative medicine research · 2026Article
- Ophthalmic and psychiatric health: the overlooked connection between ocular diseases and mental disorders.Eye (London, England) · 2026Review
- Mental health literacy mediates associations of self rated health and chronic disease status with anxiety and depression in Chinese residents.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- The role of the subcortical structures in subthreshold depression: evidence from static and dynamic functional connectivity.Brain structure & function · 2026Article
35 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
8 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundSubthreshold depression could be a significant precursor to and a risk factor for major depression. However, reliable estimates of the prevalence and its contribution to developing major depression under different terminologies depicting subthreshold depression have to be established.
methodsBy searching PubMed and Web of Science using predefined inclusion criteria, we included 1 129 969 individuals from 113 studies conducted. The prevalence estimates were calculated using the random effect model. The incidence risk ratio (IRR) was estimated by measuring the ratio of individuals with subthreshold depression who developed major depression compared to that of non-depressed individuals from 19 studies (88, 882 individuals).
resultsNo significant difference in the prevalence among the different terminologies depicting subthreshold depression (
conclusionsDepression could be a spectrum disorder, with subthreshold depression being a significant precursor to and a risk factor for major depression. Proactive management of subthreshold depression could be effective for managing the increasing prevalence of major depression.
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.