Treatment for Depression Using mHealth Apps Is Proven to be Helpful

Anxiety and depression are some of the most common mental health problems in the United States today. According to the ADAA (Anxiety and Depression Association of America) more than 40 million in the US suffer from an Anxiety disorder and nearly of those are diagnosed with depression as well. With this, demand for methods of treatment has increased leading to a sharp increase in the number of devices that aid in dealing with depression and now, a new study shows that these devices and apps are working.

According to Australian-led research, researchers from Australia’s National Institute of Complementary Medicine (NICM), Harvard Medical School, The University of Manchester, and the Black Dog Institute in Australia, smartphone apps are an . Researchers reviewed 18 randomized controlled trials that examined 22 different smartphone-based treatments for depression. As a wide-ranging study, researchers enrolled 3,400 male and female participants, between 18-59 years old, with various mental health symptoms and conditions, such as major depression, mild to moderate depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety and insomnia.

According to NICM, this is “first of its kind research” because the use of smartphone apps in the treatment of depression had not been empirically evaluated up until this study. The study found that depressive symptoms saw a significant reduction after use of the smartphone apps, better than control conditions (g=0.38, 95% CI: 0.24&#8208;0.52, p<0.001). Furthermore, smartphone only interventions showed greater effects than interventions that combined other human/computerized aspects with the smartphone.

"The data shows us that smartphones can help people monitor, understand and manage their own mental health. Using apps as part of an 'integrative medicine' approach for depression has been demonstrated to be particularly useful for improving mood and tackling symptoms in these patients,” said Professor Sarris, co-author of the study and NICM deputy director. While the data is promising, there is no evidence to suggest that these apps can replace standard therapeutic care and be used on their own, nor was their evidence they can reduce the need for medication.

However, NICM postdoctoral research fellow Joseph Firth, lead author of the paper, believes that this is a major finding as smartphones can provide more accessible and affordable methods of care for all patients, especially those who might not have been able to afford it before. “Combined with the rapid technological advances in this area, these devices may ultimately be capable of providing instantly accessible and highly effective treatments for depression, reducing the societal and economic burden of this condition worldwide,” he explained. "The data shows us that smartphones can help people monitor, understand and manage their own mental health. Using apps as part of an 'integrative medicine' approach for depression has been demonstrated to be particularly useful for improving mood and tackling symptoms in these patients.”

This research potentially opens the door to further study of mobile health apps related to depression, and a possible way to regulate categorize them as more and more enter the market. According to Jennifer Nicholas, a PhD Candidate at the Black Dog institute and co-author of the paper, said, “Given the multitude of apps available — many of them unregulated – it’s critical that we now unlock which specific app attributes reap the greatest benefits, to help ensure that all apps available to people with depression are effective.”

The entire study, “The efficacy of smartphone-based mental health interventions for depressive symptoms: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials”, can be read .