Interpersonal Psychotherapy for Major Depressive Disorder
Interpersonal Psychotherapy for Major Depressive Disorder
This paragraph will outline which steps were taken in order to perform this systematic review. An overview of the methods used for data collection, study selection, and data analysis will be provided.
RCTs about IPT for depression were collected by searching PubMed and PsycINFO for studies published between January 1970 and August 2012. The following medical subject heading (MeSH) categories and keywords were used: depression, postpartum depression, major depressive disorder, dysthymic disorder, interpersonal psychotherapy, treatment outcome, clinical trials. The exact search terms and MeSH headings can be found in the additional files (Additional file 1 – Search strategy). All titles and abstracts were screened, and only studies which met the review inclusion criteria (see next paragraph and Table 1) were selected for further review. Citation tracking and snowballing techniques added studies to the second screening phase, in which selected studies were screened for eligibility using a predefined checklist (see Data analysis) (Additional file 2 – Checklist).
Only studies with sufficient methodological quality meeting the inclusion criteria were selected for this review. The criteria for selection will be described shortly. An overview of the inclusion and exclusion criteria is provided in Table 1.
Studies were included if they were randomized or cluster-randomized evaluations (RCTs or C-RCTs) published in English after January 1, 1970, and took place in western jurisdictions, to ensure high internal validity. These studies had to focus on MDD (non-chronic or chronic) as a primary diagnosis in adults (18–65 years old). The diagnosis must have been reached using a formal classification system, such as the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), the International Classification of Diseases (ICD), or the Research Diagnostic Criteria. Bipolar disorders as primary diagnoses were excluded, as well as cases where the patients were elderly people or adolescents, or in cases in which physical conditions might contribute to the (severity of) depressive symptoms. The proposed intervention must have been individual sole IPT, in comparison with other psychotherapies, pharmacotherapy, or combined treatment. Group IPT and other kinds of treatments were excluded. Studies executed in ambulant care or primary care were included, whereas inpatient care patients were excluded.
Before the data were analyzed for this review, the methodological quality of the studies included after screening has been assessed, using a predefined checklist (Additional file 2 – Checklist). This checklist was composed of Delphi-list questions and questions assessing the risk of bias in effect evaluation studies. General questions were composed for collecting relevant information about the study, after which the resulting information was entered in a Microsoft Excel table for a clear overview. This overview was used to create a table of evidence of the extracted study data, and to summarize the most important findings. MH performed the analysis and consulted TR in case of doubt. In this case, the analyses were double checked and consensus was reached.
Methods
This paragraph will outline which steps were taken in order to perform this systematic review. An overview of the methods used for data collection, study selection, and data analysis will be provided.
Data Sources
RCTs about IPT for depression were collected by searching PubMed and PsycINFO for studies published between January 1970 and August 2012. The following medical subject heading (MeSH) categories and keywords were used: depression, postpartum depression, major depressive disorder, dysthymic disorder, interpersonal psychotherapy, treatment outcome, clinical trials. The exact search terms and MeSH headings can be found in the additional files (Additional file 1 – Search strategy). All titles and abstracts were screened, and only studies which met the review inclusion criteria (see next paragraph and Table 1) were selected for further review. Citation tracking and snowballing techniques added studies to the second screening phase, in which selected studies were screened for eligibility using a predefined checklist (see Data analysis) (Additional file 2 – Checklist).
Study Selection
Only studies with sufficient methodological quality meeting the inclusion criteria were selected for this review. The criteria for selection will be described shortly. An overview of the inclusion and exclusion criteria is provided in Table 1.
Studies were included if they were randomized or cluster-randomized evaluations (RCTs or C-RCTs) published in English after January 1, 1970, and took place in western jurisdictions, to ensure high internal validity. These studies had to focus on MDD (non-chronic or chronic) as a primary diagnosis in adults (18–65 years old). The diagnosis must have been reached using a formal classification system, such as the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), the International Classification of Diseases (ICD), or the Research Diagnostic Criteria. Bipolar disorders as primary diagnoses were excluded, as well as cases where the patients were elderly people or adolescents, or in cases in which physical conditions might contribute to the (severity of) depressive symptoms. The proposed intervention must have been individual sole IPT, in comparison with other psychotherapies, pharmacotherapy, or combined treatment. Group IPT and other kinds of treatments were excluded. Studies executed in ambulant care or primary care were included, whereas inpatient care patients were excluded.
Data Analysis
Before the data were analyzed for this review, the methodological quality of the studies included after screening has been assessed, using a predefined checklist (Additional file 2 – Checklist). This checklist was composed of Delphi-list questions and questions assessing the risk of bias in effect evaluation studies. General questions were composed for collecting relevant information about the study, after which the resulting information was entered in a Microsoft Excel table for a clear overview. This overview was used to create a table of evidence of the extracted study data, and to summarize the most important findings. MH performed the analysis and consulted TR in case of doubt. In this case, the analyses were double checked and consensus was reached.
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