The effectiveness of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy combined with medication therapy in preventing recurrence of major depressive disorder in convalescent patients
Frontiers in Psychology August 18, 2022 Hui-Rong Guo, Jun-Ru Wang, Ya-Li Wang et al.
Combining mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) with medication more effectively prevents recurrence of major depressive disorder (MDD) in convalescent patients than medication alone. Over one year, 12.31% of patients receiving MBCT plus medication experienced recurrence, compared with 29.23% taking medication alone. Both groups showed improved depression and quality-of-life scores, but the MBCT group had significantly greater reductions in depression severity and larger changes in stress-related hormones (corticotrophin-releasing hormone, adrenocorticotropic hormone, and cortisol). The intervention and the change in depression scores each significantly predicted recurrence risk.