Digital mental health interventions may help decrease depression and anxiety symptoms before acive treatment: JAMA

A recent study conducted across various outpatient psychiatry clinics within the University of Michigan Health System revealed positive results regarding the effectiveness of digital mental health interventions (DMHIs) in the treatment of depression and anxiety. This randomized clinical trial spanned from May 2020 to December 2022 to compare the cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)-based and mindfulness-based DMHIs against an enhanced personalized feedback (EPF)-only DMHI. The findings of this study were published in the Journal of American Medical Association.

The study involved a total of 2,079 adult participants which comprised predominantly of women (68.4%), with a mean age of 36.8 years. The participants were assigned to one of five intervention arms which were EPF only, Silvercloud only (CBT-based app), Silvercloud plus EPF, Headspace only (mindfulness app) and Headspace plus EPF. All participants underwent a follow-up assessment at six weeks by adhering to the intent-to-treat principle.

The results of this research showed a significant decrease in depressive symptoms across all the intervention groups, with the mean change in the The Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) scores ranged from -2.1 to -2.9. The magnitude of change in depression scores did not significantly differ between the five groups (F4,1879 = 1.19; P = .31) and this indicated that all DMHIs were similarly effective in reducing depression symptoms. Also, no significant differences were observed in the reduction of anxiety or substance use symptoms among the groups.

However, a significant finding of this study was that the Headspace groups demonstrated greater improvements in suicidality measures when compared to the Silvercloud groups, with a mean difference in mean change of 0.63 (95% CI, 0.20-1.06; P = .004). This suggested that mindfulness-based interventions may have an edge in addressing suicidality, despite all the DMHIs were effective in reduction of general symptoms.

These findings highlight that digital mental health interventions could be valuable in supporting patients during periods of waiting for traditional care and this could potentially reduce the burden on mental health services. Despite the lack of significant differences in the effectiveness of specific applications, the study highlights the overall beneficial outcome of the digital interventions in mental health care. As digital health solutions continue to evolve, these tools could play a crucial role in enhancing mental health support and accessibility after further studies and research.

Reference:

Horwitz, A. G., Mills, E. D., Sen, S., & Bohnert, A. S. B. (2024). Comparative Effectiveness of Three Digital Interventions for Adults Seeking Psychiatric Services. In JAMA Network Open (Vol. 7, Issue 7, p. e2422115). American Medical Association (AMA). https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.22115