Are Early Interventions Beneficial for Depressive Status? A Pragmatic Randomized Controlled Trial

Purpose: To evaluate therapeutic effects of early interventions and compare advantages of Electro-acupuncture (EA), Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) and their combination therapy in ameliorating depressive symptoms. Methods: 33 subjects in depressive status, included via Hamilton Depression Rating Scale-17 (HDRS-17) and Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI), were assigned into 4 groups depending on their intentions, EA group (6 cases), CBT group (10 cases), combination of EA and CBT group (6 cases) and observation group (11 cases). Intention To Treat (ITT) analysis and Per Protocol (PP) analysis were employed to evaluate primary outcome measures (clinical response rate based on rate of HDRS-17 score changes, clinical remission defined as an endpoint HDRS-17 score 0.05). Conclusion: Early interventions could alleviate depressive symptoms. EA improve somatic symptoms and insomnia while CBT favors mitigating cognition and mood dysfunction. The combination therapy targeting both physical and psychological symptoms might be an ideal strategy for depressive status intervention. Contact: Tianwei Guo, guotianwei tcm@126.com