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Cited by 276Psychotherapy Techniques and ApplicationsTreatment of Major DepressionMental Health Treatment and Access

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 51 of the 51 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

Treatments for Later-Life Depressive Conditions: A Meta-Analytic Comparison of Pharmacotherapy and Psychotherapy

Pinquart, Martin, Duberstein, Paul R., Lyness, Jeffrey M.·2006·American Journal of Psychiatry
DOI 10.1176/ajp.2006.163.9.1493
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Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To improve interventions for depressed older adults, data are needed on the comparative effects of pharmacotherapy versus psychotherapy. Given that most older adults with clinically significant depressive symptoms do not have major depression, data on treatments for minor depression and dysthymia are especially needed. METHOD: Meta-analysis was used to integrate the results of 89 controlled studies of treatments focused on acute major depression (37 studies) and other depressive disorders (52 studies conducted with mixed diagnostic groups, including patients with major depression, minor depression, and dysthymia). A total of 5,328 older adults received pharmacotherapy or psychotherapy in these studies. RESULTS: Clinician-rated depression scores improved, on average, by 0.80 standard deviation (SD) units; self-rated depression scores improved by 0.76 SD units. Clinician-rated depression improved by 0.69 SD units in pharmacotherapeutic studies and by 1.09 SD units in psychotherapeutic studies. Self-rated depression improved by 0.62 SD units and 0.83 SD units, respectively. An interesting finding was the stronger improvements in clinician-rated depression among control subjects participating in medication studies, compared to those in psychotherapeutic studies. CONCLUSIONS: Available treatments for depression work, with effect sizes that are moderate to large. Comparisons of psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy must be interpreted with caution, in part because medication studies are more likely to use a credible active placebo, which may lead to smaller adjusted effect sizes in medication studies. Given that psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy did not show strong differences in effect sizes, treatment choice should be based on other criteria, such as contraindications, treatment access, or patient preferences.

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Crossref · 10.1176/ajp.2006.163.9.1493

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Research works printed but not linked: 12

  1. 10.1001/jama.1997.03550140078045 · DOI
  2. Rokke PD, 1995, J Clin Geropsychol, 1, 243
  3. Dhooper SS, 1993, J Gerontol Soc Work, 20, 87
  4. Agency for Health Care Policy and Research, 1993, Md
  5. Kemp BJ, Gill B: Effects of brief cognitive-behavioral group psychotherapy on older persons with and without disabling illness. Behavior, Health, and Aging 1991-1992
  6. Guaiana G, 2003, Cochrane Database Syst Rev, 2, D004186
  7. Engels GI, 1997, J Clin Geropsychol, 3, 17
  8. Blazer D, 1993, CV Mosby
  9. Beck AT, 1979, Tex
  10. Glass GV, 1981, McGaw B
  11. Rosenthal R, 1991, Calif
  12. 10.1037/0033-2909.112.1.155 · DOI · Paper page

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Metadata

Authors
Pinquart, M., Duberstein, P. R., & Lyness, J. M.
Affiliations
Friedrich Schiller University Jena (DE)
ORCID
Venue
American Journal of Psychiatry
Publisher
American Psychiatric Association Publishing
Published
2006-09
Volume
163
Issue
9
Pages
1493-1501
ISSN
  • 0002-953X (ISSN-L)
  • 1535-7228
DOI
10.1176/ajp.2006.163.9.1493
OpenAlex
W2128077214
Cited by
204
References
51
Citations by year
2026: 1 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 8 · 2021: 5 · 2020: 12 · 2019: 7 · 2018: 7 · 2017: 5 · 2016: 14 · 2015: 19 · 2014: 8 · 2013: 16 · 2012: 12
FWCI
16.61
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • American Journal of Psychiatry (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
  • National Institutes of Health (5r01mh061429-05)
  • National Institute of Mental Health (R01 MH-61429, R01 MH-64579, R01MH064579)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychotherapy Techniques and Applications
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Pharmacology (medical) › Treatment of Major Depression
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Mental Health Treatment and Access
Keywords
geriatric depression, older adults, pharmacotherapy, psychotherapy, major depressive disorder, minor depression, dysthymia, treatment comparison, active placebo, effect size, self-rated depression
MeSH terms
Aged, Antidepressive Agents, Depressive Disorder, Major, Major Depressive Disorder, Depressive Disorder, Humans, Psychotherapy, Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic, Treatment Outcome, Dysthymic Disorder

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