Depression affects 1 in 7 people in Australia. Good nutrition, physical activity and having someone you can reach out to are all important when someone is depressed. How do these lifestyle interventions compare though, and which are the most important?
A new study looked at the effectiveness and cost-efficiency of remote-delivered, online lifestyle therapy (focused on nutrition and physical activity) compared to traditional talking therapy (in this case, cognitive behavioural therapy or CBT) for reducing depression. The goal was to determine whether lifestyle therapy could be as effective as psychotherapy.
Researchers conducted a randomised controlled trial involving 182 adults with symptoms of depression. Participants were randomly assigned to one of two groups: one received lifestyle therapy (led by a dietitian and exercise physiologist), while the other underwent psychotherapy (led by psychologists). Both interventions were delivered via video conference for 90 minutes. There were six sessions over two months and the primary outcome measured was depression severity.
Both groups experienced significant and similar reductions in depression over the eight weeks. The study found no significant differences between the two, indicating that lifestyle therapy was similar to psychotherapy. Cost-wise, delivering lifestyle therapy was slightly cheaper, primarily because dietitians and exercise physiologists are paid less than psychologists, but generally the health and societal costs were comparable between the two approaches.
The results suggest that lifestyle therapy could be a viable alternative to psychotherapy for treating depression, particularly in situations where access to psychological services is limited, such as rural areas.
If replicated in larger studies, this approach could help reduce the burden on the mental health system by expanding the types of professionals able to deliver effective treatment for depression.
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