ReviewMedical journal, Armed Forces India
Effects of non-pharmacological interventions in depression and anxiety in children and adolescents: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
Review in Medical journal, Armed Forces India. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
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
3 citing papers in PubMed.
- Group painting therapy for children and adolescents with bone tumors: a quasi-experimental trial evaluating anxiety, depression, post-traumatic growth, and health-related quality of life.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Article
- Potential preventive effects of forest bathing/Shinrin-yoku on depressive symptoms: a narrative review of mechanistic evidence.Environmental health and preventive medicine · 2026Review
- Article
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
Background: Research has shown that non-pharmacological interventions (NPIs) can effectively reduce anxiety and depression in children and adolescents; however, there remains a lack of agreement on this topic. This review aims to assess the effectiveness of NPIs in alleviating depression and anxiety in children and adolescents when compared to control groups. Methods: A comprehensive search of electronic databases, including PubMed, PsycINFO, OVID, ProQuest, EBSCO host, and Cochrane, was conducted for studies published from 2009 to May 2023. Studies that employed NPIs to evaluate their impact on anxiety and depression in children and adolescents were included. Results: Out of 3680 study records screened, 15 studies (32 arms, 6851 participants) met the inclusion criteria for the final analysis. The pooled analysis indicated a statistically significant difference between NPIs and control groups regarding depression (standardized mean difference [SMD] -0.15, 95% CI -0.27, -0.03; p = 0.01, I2 = 74%) and anxiety (SMD -0.48, 95% CI -0.76, -0.20; p = 0.0007, I2 = 77%). Subgroup analyses showed a significant difference in depression outcomes for adolescents, while NPIs notably improved anxiety in children. However, NPIs did not yield significant improvements in depression among children. Conclusions: This review underscores the positive impact of NPIs on reducing anxiety and depression in adolescents and children. Future research on NPI interventions should focus on long-term effects and well-structured methodologies to establish definitive conclusions regarding depression in children. Clinicians and practitioners should interpret these findings with caution, considering the methodological limitations present in the studies. Study registration: The proposal has been registered with The International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO 2023) CRD42023390189.
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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.