Lifestyle interventions could prevent major depression in adults with mild symptoms

Researchers have suggested that lifestyle interventions can prevent major depression in adults with mild symptoms.

Depression is common and treatments often don't completely resolve the disability that attends the illness, said senior author Charles F. Reynolds III, M.D., UPMC Endowed Professor of Geriatric Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

Sadness, fatigue and disinterest in activities that used to bring pleasure can leave patients isolated and unable to care for themselves.

The team assessed whether problem-solving therapy for primary care (PST-PC), a scientifically proven seven-step approach delivered by non-mental-health professionals to help patients resolve difficulties and thus improve coping skills and confidence, could prevent elderly adults who have mild symptoms of depression from developing full-blown disease.

Instead of comparing the PST-PC participants to those who received "usual care," which would most likely mean receiving no intervention, the team took the novel approach of comparing the PST-PC group to participants who underwent a program of dietary coaching at a similar visit interval for the same number of hours.

Researchers used innovative strategies to recruit and retain African-American study participants, building upon a culturally tailored approach developed by Sandra Quinn, Ph.D., and Stephen Thomas, Ph.D., co-investigators from the University of Maryland Center for Health Equity.

The findings have been published online in journal Psychiatric Services.