Table 1.

Key questions and inclusion/exclusion criteria

Question	Population	Intervention/Exposure	Comparison	Outcomes	Exclusions
1. Which treatment therapy or method for depression is more successful for long-term remission or recovery?	Participants of any age diagnosed with depression	ADM, psychotherapy alone or in combination	Any other depression treatment	Remission, relapse	Comparisons of individual ADMs or CAMs
2. What are the long-term physical implications of pharmacotherapy for treating depression?	Participants of any age diagnosed with depression	Current or past treatment with any ADM	No ADM treatment or treatment with a different ADM	Long-term (>1 year) physical harms of ADMs	Outcome: Short term harms
3a. For various non-pharmacological treatment options, what are the advantages in terms of cost?	Participants of any age with depression	Psychological treatment (psychotherapy, individual or group therapies, psychosocial support)	Any other psychological treatment	Cost effectiveness of psychological therapies	Comparator: pharmacological treatment, treatment as usual or no treatment.
3b. For various non-pharmacological treatment options, what are the advantages in terms of safety?	Participants of any age with depression	Psychological treatment (psychotherapy, individual or group therapies, psychosocial support)	Any other psychotherapeutic treatment	Safety, adverse events, harms	Comparators of pharmacological treatment, treatment as usual, no treatment or CAMs
3c. For various non-pharmacological treatment options, what are the advantages in terms of effectiveness and relapse prevention?	Participants of any age with depression	Psychological treatment (psychotherapy, individual or group therapies, psychosocial support)	Any other psychological treatment	Progression or severity of depression, relapse	Intervention: depression prevention; Comparator: ADMs, treatment as usual or no treatment
4. What are the prevention strategies/tactics for reducing self-harm and suicide in children, youth and adults with depression?	Participants of any age diagnosed with depression	Suicide or self-harm prevention programmes	None	Suicide attempts and self-harm	Pharmacological interventions
7. Can diet or exercise affect the development of depression?	Participants of any age diagnosed with depression	Intervention related to current or modified dietary intake or exercise	Antidepressant pharmacotherapy or a different dietary or exercise programme	Development, progression and/or severity of depressive symptoms	None
8. What are the functional, social, intellectual, physical and psychological problems experienced by children and teens living with an immediate family member who has depression?	Children and/or adolescent participants 18 years of age or younger living with an immediate family member (parent or sibling living in the same residence) who had been diagnosed with depression	No intervention. Exposure is living with an immediate family member who had been diagnosed with depression	None	Functional, social, intellectual, physical and psychological problems	None
9. What interventions are effective in preventing and treating workplace depression and reducing stigma associated with depression in the workplace?	Participants of any age with depression	Workplace interventions	None	Change in symptom progression or severity; reduction in stigma	Studies with general outcomes of mental health and psychological well-being that did not specifically report depression outcomes
10. Are there structural or functional changes in brains due to antidepressant therapy during brain development (in children)?	Children and/or adolescent participants 18 years of age or younger diagnosed with depression	Treatment with ADMs	None	Structural or functional development of the brain	None
11. What is the role of the family in the treatment and trajectory of depression?	Participants of any age	Involvement of family members in the patient’s management of depression	None	Symptom progression or severity; family’s influence on treatment decisions or remission rates	None

ADM, antidepressant medication; CAM, complementary or complementary medicine.