Clinical Effectiveness of Training for Awareness Resilience and Action Online Compared to Standard Treatment for Adolescents and Young Adults With Depression: Study Protocol and Analysis Plan for a Pragmatic, Multi-Center Randomized Controlled Superiority Trial

The Power Threat Meaning Framework: a qualitative study of depression in adolescents and young adults

Introduction

Depression constitutes one of our largest global health concerns and current treatment strategies lack convincing evidence of effectiveness in youth. We suggest that this is partly due to inherent limitations of the present diagnostic paradigm that may group fundamentally different conditions together without sufficient consideration of etiology, developmental aspects, or context. Alternatives that complement the diagnostic system are available yet understudied. The Power Threat and Meaning Framework (PTMF) is one option, developed for explanatory and practical purposes. While based on scientific evidence, empirical research on the framework itself is still lacking. This qualitative study was performed to explore the experiences of adolescents and young adults with depression from the perspective of the PTMF.

Methods

We conducted semi-structured interviews with 11 Swedish individuals aged 15- 22 years, mainly female, currently enrolled in a clinical trial for major depressive disorder. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed with framework analysis informed by the PTMF.

Results

A complex multitude of adversities preceding the onset of depression was described, with a rich variety of effects, interpretations, and reactions. In total, 17 themes were identified in the four dimensions of the PTMF, highlighting the explanatory power of the framework in this context. Not all participants were able to formulate coherent narratives.

Discussion

The PTMF provides a framework for understanding the complexities, common themes, and lived experiences of young individuals with depression. This may be essential for the development of new interventions with increased precision and effectiveness in the young.

Real-Time Hemodynamic Changes in the Prefrontal and Bilateral Temporal Cortices During Intradermal Acupuncture for Major Depressive Disorder: A Prospective, Single-Center, Controlled Trial Protocol

Background

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is highly prevalent, affecting more than 300 million individuals worldwide, and its occurrence may be related to the abnormality of the prefrontal cortex and bilateral temporal cortex. Acupuncture, rooted in the theories of acupoints and meridians, has demonstrated its efficacy in regulating cortical blood flow (CBF) in the brains of MDD patients. As one form of acupuncture, intradermal acupuncture (IA) can alleviate clinical symptoms such as depressive mood and insomnia in MDD patients. However, it remains unknown whether IA will have a specific effect on the prefrontal cortex and bilateral temporal cortex in MDD patients.

Methods

In total, 60 participants will be recruited: 20 healthy control participants and 40 MDD patients. All healthy control participants will be allocated to the control group, whereas the 40 MDD patients will be randomly divided into two groups: the gallbladder meridian acupoint (GBA) group and the non-acupoint (NA) group, at a 1:1 allocation ratio. All groups will undergo a one-time IA intervention while their cortical activity is monitored using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). Total hemoglobin, oxygenated hemoglobin, and deoxygenated hemoglobin of the prefrontal and bilateral temporal cortices will be measured by fNIRS during the test procedure.

Discussion

This trial aims to use fNIRS to compare real-time hemodynamic changes in the prefrontal and bilateral temporal cortices of healthy individuals and MDD patients during IA. The primary objective is to investigate whether MDD patients exhibit specific real-time responses to IA stimulation in these brain regions. The findings from this study will provide clinical data and a possible theoretical basis for the assumption that stimulation of IA may treat MDD by modulating the relevant brain regions.

Trial Registration

The study protocol has been registered in the clinicaltrials.gov with the code NCT05707299.

Scales and Interventions for Resilience among Treatment-Seeking Patients with Depression: A Systematic Review

Introduction

Resilience is an ability of an individual to effectively adjust and thrive in adverse stressful conditions. Resilience has protective and compensatory effects against depression. Evaluating resilience clinically and modifying it among patients with depression hugely impacts their prognosis. We aimed to explore different clinical scales for measuring resilience as well as interventions used with an intent to improve resilience among patients with depression.

Methods

A systematic literature review was conducted by searching PubMed central, Biomed central, and google scholar, using relevant MeSH keywords. The population of interest were the patients who were clinically diagnosed with Bipolar or Unipolar Depression and the population were not restricted to any country. Clinical scales for evaluation and interventions for resilience among patients with depression were set as an outcome of the study. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs), Quasi-experimental studies, observational studies, and narrative reviews were considered relevant research designs for extraction.

Results

A total of 8689 articles were identified and 13 articles were included in the final review, which yielded five scales that have been identified and have been used to evaluate resilience among the patients who are clinically diagnosed with depression and six different interventions for building resilience among patients with depression.

Conclusion

Resilience-building interventions will not only act as a preventive measure against depression but also help in promoting recovery and sustaining remission after a depressive episode. Clinical evaluation of resilience and management will significantly support boosting emotional experience.

Clinical effectiveness of training for awareness, resilience, and action for adolescents and young adults with depression: The pilot phase of a multicenter randomized controlled trial

Background

Depression is a top-ranking global health concern increasing in magnitude. Available treatments for adolescents and young adults are not convincingly effective and relapse rates remain high. Training for Awareness, Resilience and Action (TARA) is a group treatment program targeting specific pathophysiological mechanisms of depression in young people. TARA is feasible, acceptable, preliminarily efficacious in depressed American adolescents, and it affects postulated brain-circuitry.

Methods

As an initial step of a multicenter randomized controlled trial (RCT) we performed a single-arm multicenter pilot-study on TARA. Thirty-five depressed individuals (15-21 years old, 28 females) received TARA for 12 weeks face-to-face or online. Data was collected before (T0), during, and after the intervention (T1). The trial was pre-registered at clinicaltrials.gov, NCT Registration: identifier [NCT04747340]. Feasibility outcomes included recruitment, attendance rates, and session ratings. Adverse events were recorded weekly and extracted from medical records at the end of the trial. Primary effectiveness outcome was self-rated depression severity on Reynolds Adolescent Depression scale 2nd ed. at T1. Secondary outcomes were Children's Depression Rating Scale-revised (CDRS-R) and Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children (MASC) at T1.

Results

TARA was feasible and safe in the present trial. No significant RADS-2-change was seen (adjusted mean difference -3.26, 95 % CI -8.35 to 1.83; p= 0.20), however a significant decrease in CDRS-R scores is reported (adjusted mean difference -9.99, 95% CI -14.76 to -5.22; p < 0.001). MASC-scores did not change significantly (adjusted mean difference 1.98, 95% CI -0.96 to 4.91; p=0.18). Additional feasibility aspects are presented and discussed.

Discussion

Limitations include substantial loss-to-follow-up, no randomization to control, and that some participants received concomitant treatment(s). The Coronavirus pandemic complicated both implementation and interpretation of the trial. In conclusion TARA was feasible and safe in depressed adolescents and young adults. Preliminary signs of effectiveness were seen. The initiated RCT will be important and worthwhile to conduct, and several improvements to the design are suggested based on the present results.

Clinical Trial Registration

clinicaltrials.gov, identifier NCT04747340.

Psychometric properties of the Swedish version of the Reynolds Adolescent Depression Scale second edition (RADS-2) in a clinical sample

Objective: Observed and predicted increases in the global burden of disease caused by major depressive disorder (MDD) highlight the need for psychometrically robust multi-dimensional measures to use for clinical and research purposes. Reynolds Adolescent Depression Scale second edition (RADS-2) is an internationally well-validated scale measuring different dimensions of adolescent depression. The Swedish version has previously only been evaluated in a normative sample.Methods: We collected data from patients in child and adolescent psychiatry and primary care and performed: (1) Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to evaluate the established four-factor structure, (2) Analyses of reliability and measurement invariance, (3) Analyses of convergent and discriminant validity using the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale, the depression subscales of the Beck Youth Inventories and the Revised Child Anxiety and Depression Scale, as well as the Patient Reported Outcome Measurements Information System, peer-relationships and physical activity item banks.Results: Recruited participants (n = 536, 129 male and 407 female, mean age 16.45 years, SD = 2.47, range 12 - 22 years) had a variety of psychiatric diagnoses. We found support for the four-factor structure and acceptable to good reliability for the subscale and total scores. Convergent and discriminant validity were good. Measurement invariance was demonstrated for age, sex, and between the present sample and a previously published normative sample. The RADS-2-scores were significantly higher in the present sample than in the normative sample. In this clinical study, the Swedish RADS-2 demonstrated good validity and acceptable to good reliability. Our findings support the use of RADS-2 in Swedish clinical and research contexts.

COVID-19 and mental health disorders in children and adolescents (Review)

The new coronavirus has been present for two years and has had a widespread and sustained impact worldwide. There is growing evidence in the literature that COVID-19 may have negative effects on mental illness in patients and in healthy populations. The unprecedented changes brought about by COVID-19, such as social isolation, school closures, and family stress, negatively affect people's mental health, especially that of children and adolescents. The purpose of this paper is to review the literature and summarize the impact of COVID-19 disorders on children's and adolescents' mental health, the mechanisms and risk factors, screening tools, and intervention and prevention. We hope that the mental dysfunction caused by the pandemic will be mitigated through appropriate and timely prevention and intervention.