INTEGRATIVE MEDICAL CARE VS STANDARD MEDICAL CARE IN ADULT PATIENTS WITH DEPRESSION

Abstract

Background Depression is the leading cause of worldwide disability, which has become a global burden. Various pharmacological drugs are available for its treatment but with inadequate response and remission rate and may also produce undesirable side effects over the long term. These concerns have increased the demand for a different treatment approach for depression, such as complementary or alternative therapy and integrative approach. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of integrative medical care in adult patients with depression visiting a family clinic in Saskatchewan compared to standard medical treatment.

Method This is a pre- and post-test study (n=105) which compares the effectiveness of integrative medical care to standard medical care for the treatment of depression after three months follow-up from the baseline. The primary outcome of interest was the percentage improvement in depression score using Beck's Depression Inventory-II measured as an ordinal variable with three categories (≤ 17.5%, 17.6-29% and ≥ 30% improvement). The primary predictor of interest is the study group that is categorized into standard medical care group and integrative medical care group. Other covariates included age, sex, self-described overall health, self-described happiness with life and diagnosed medical condition. Descriptive statistics were performed for all the participants. Ordinal logistic regression was performed to analyze the final findings. Interaction effects were also tested in the analysis. The strength of association was determined using odds ratio and 95% confidence interval. All the analyses were performed using SPSS 27.0.

Results In this study, 47.6% of participants received standard medical care, and 52.4% received integrative medical care. Descriptive statistics showed that 4-point reduction in the mean Beck depression score was observed in both the study groups. Also, participants who showed 30% or more improvement in the Beck depression score were equally distributed with approximately 50% in both the arms. The association between percentage improvement in depression score and study group was not statistically significant after three months follow-up. A significant interaction effect was observed between self-described overall health and self-described happiness with life.

Conclusion Descriptive statistics showed a mean Beck depression score reduction by four points in both the arms. Also, no statistical significant difference was observed between the arms after the three months of treatment. This was a short-term study; however, it is possible that a longer intervention may yield different results.