Depression often returns even after successful treatment. Using data from 424 adults with recurrent depression, researchers built models to predict relapse over 24 months for those continuing antidepressant medication (ADM) versus switching to mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT). Only the ADM model modestly predicted relapse better than baseline severity. People with the poorest ADM prognosis who switched to MBCT had lower relapse rates (48% vs. 70%) and longer time before relapse than those who stayed on ADM. For those with moderate or good ADM prognosis, both treatments led to similar relapse likelihood. The results suggest predictive models could help tailor relapse prevention choices.
Memory specificity—the ability to recall specific, single-incident autobiographical memories—has been thought to predict recurrent depression. This individual patient data meta-analysis examined whether mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) improves memory specificity and whether pre-treatment memory specificity moderates treatment response. Across datasets including 880 participants, memory specificity did not significantly change from before to after treatment for either MBCT or control interventions. Baseline memory specificity did not predict treatment response, whether measured by symptom levels or relapse risk. These findings question the assumed role of memory specificity in treatments for depression.
For people with a history of recurrent depression, mindfulness-based cognitive therapy combined with support to taper antidepressants is not superior to continuing maintenance antidepressants for preventing relapse over two years. In a randomized trial of 424 adults with three or more prior episodes, the time to relapse did not differ between the two groups. Both treatments were associated with enduring positive outcomes in terms of relapse, residual symptoms, and quality of life. Serious adverse events were rare and similar across groups. The findings suggest that MBCT with tapering support offers a comparable alternative to long-term antidepressant use.