SynthesisPharmacoEconomics2023
Cost Effectiveness of Pharmacological and Non-pharmacological Treatments for Depression in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Systematic Literature Review.
Synthesis in PharmacoEconomics, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers, 1 of them a synthesis 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
8 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Comparison of Cost-Effectiveness Between Digital Health Interventions and Pharmacotherapy for Depression: Systematic Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Pooled it
- Economic evaluation of Learning Through Play Plus in comparison to usual care for depressed mothers alongside a randomised controlled trial.BMC health services research · 2026Trial
- Cost analysis of integrating depression treatment into chronic care in Malawi: evidence from a cluster randomised controlled trial.BMJ open · 2025Trial
- The Cost Effectiveness of Treatment Strategies for Depression in Ethiopia: A Multiple Cohort Markov Model Analysis.Applied health economics and health policy · 2026Article
- Youth peer-based mental health programmes and supports in low- and middle-income countries: rapid review.BJPsych open · 2026Review
- Article
- Incorporating Complexity and System Dynamics into Economic Modelling for Mental Health Policy and Planning.PharmacoEconomics · 2024Article
- Economic evaluation of Maternal Depression Treatment in HIV (M-DEPTH) for perinatal depression among women living with HIV in Uganda: a cost-effectiveness analysis.BMJ public health · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundVarious treatment approaches are available for depression. Given the scarcity of healthcare resources, it is important to optimise treatment availability in an efficient manner. Economic evaluations can inform the optimal allocation of healthcare resources. However, there is currently no review synthesising what is known about the cost effectiveness of treatments for depression in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).
methodsThis review identified articles from six database searches: APA PsycINFO, CINAHL Complete, Cochrane Library, EconLit, Embase and MEDLINE Complete. Trial- and model-based economic evaluations published between 1 January 2000 and 3 December 2022 were included. The quality of health economic studies (QHES) instrument was used to assess the quality of the included papers.
resultsThis review comprised 22 articles, with most studies (N = 17) focusing exclusively on the adult population. Even though evidence regarding the cost effectiveness of antidepressants for treating various forms of depression was inconsistent; an atypical antipsychotic (aripiprazole) was frequently reported to be cost effective for treatment-resistant depression. Task shifting (aka task sharing) to lay health workers or non-specialist health care providers appeared to be a cost-effective approach for treating depression in LMICs.
conclusionsOverall, this review found mixed evidence on the cost effectiveness of depression treatment choices among LMICs, with some indication that task sharing with lay health workers may be cost effective. Future research will be needed to fill the gaps around the cost effectiveness of depression treatments in younger people and beyond healthcare facilities.
Indexed as
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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.