Lifestyle changes may be as effective as therapy at easing depression — SkimNews
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- Adrienne O'Neil at Deakin University led a trial of 267 adults with moderate-to-severe depression or bipolar disorder, comparing an eight-week remote lifestyle intervention to cognitive behavioural therapy.
- The lifestyle group averaged an 8.55-point reduction on a 60-point depression scale, beating the CBT group's 6.82-point drop by 1.73 points — surpassing the pre-set 1.6-point non-inferiority margin.
- Lifestyle advice, delivered by accredited dietitians and exercise physiologists, covered mindful eating, enjoyable exercise, alcohol management, and sleep quality.
- Self-reported depression improvements in the lifestyle group were maintained at 16- and 24-week follow-ups, according to the researchers.
- Ashwini Nadkarni at Harvard Medical School said lifestyle changes likely act through multiple pathways: inflammation, stress, neuroplasticity, neurotransmitter metabolism, and the gut-brain-microbiome axis.
- Patricia Dixon cautioned that people on CBT shouldn't discontinue it without consulting a doctor, and noted lifestyle interventions may be less helpful for depression tied to life events such as bereavement.
- O'Neil's team is adapting the program to test it in children with anxiety and veterans with mental health conditions, and is studying its cost-effectiveness.
Why it matters: For the majority of depression patients who don't respond to therapy — per a 2021 evidence review cited in the piece — a dietitian- and exercise-physiologist-led remote program matched CBT's symptom-reduction power and held gains at 24 weeks, potentially adding a scalable, non-therapist pathway to standard depression care.
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