Table 2.
Description of included studies and distribution of potential effect modifiers
| All studies | Combined vs. psychotherapy | Combined vs. pharmacotherapy | Psychotherapy vs. pharmacotherapy | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N | % | N | % | N | % | N | % | ||
| Patients | |||||||||
| Recruitment | Community | 35 | 34.7 | 9 | 40.9 | 14 | 29.2 | 21 | 36.8 |
| Clinical | 47 | 46.5 | 11 | 50.0 | 28 | 58.3 | 26 | 45.6 | |
| Other | 19 | 18.8 | 2 | 9.1 | 6 | 12.5 | 10 | 17.5 | |
| Target group | Adults | 75 | 74.3 | 17 | 77.3 | 33 | 68.8 | 46 | 80.7 |
| Specific group | 26 | 25.7 | 5 | 22.7 | 15 | 31.3 | 11 | 19.3 | |
| Chronic or treatment‐resistant depression | 13 | 12.9 | 3 | 13.6 | 11 | 22.9 | 5 | 8.8 | |
| Psychotherapy | |||||||||
| Type | CBT | 48 | 47.5 | 12 | 54.5 | 21 | 43.8 | 31 | 54.4 |
| Other | 52 | 52.5 | 10 | 45.5 | 27 | 56.3 | 26 | 45.6 | |
| Format | Individual | 81 | 80.2 | 15 | 68.2 | 38 | 79.2 | 47 | 82.5 |
| Group/mixed | 20 | 19.8 | 7 | 31.8 | 10 | 20.8 | 10 | 17.5 | |
| Optimized | 45 | 44.6 | 11 | 50.0 | 22 | 45.8 | 26 | 45.6 | |
| Pharmacotherapy | |||||||||
| Type | SSRI | 38 | 37.6 | 6 | 27.3 | 17 | 35.4 | 24 | 42.1 |
| TCA | 26 | 25.7 | 11 | 50.0 | 11 | 22.9 | 15 | 26.3 | |
| Other | 37 | 36.6 | 5 | 22.7 | 20 | 41.7 | 18 | 31.6 | |
| Optimized | 67 | 66.3 | 18 | 81.8 | 28 | 58.3 | 43 | 75.4 | |
| General study characteristics | |||||||||
| Country | US | 53 | 52.5 | 14 | 63.6 | 23 | 47.9 | 29 | 50.9 |
| Europe | 32 | 31.7 | 5 | 22.7 | 15 | 31.3 | 20 | 35.1 | |
| Other | 16 | 15.8 | 3 | 13.6 | 10 | 20.8 | 8 | 14.0 | |
| Low risk of bias | 28 | 27.7 | 5 | 22.7 | 17 | 35.4 | 13 | 22.8 | |
CBT – cognitive behavior therapy, SSRI – selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, TCA – tricyclic antidepressant