Table 2.
Subjects’ characteristics from the studies included.
| References | N | Sex (M/F) | Age (Years) | Diagnosis | Diagnostic Instruments | Baseline Depressive Symptom Severity | Baseline Cognitive Status | Comorbidity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hoffman et al., 2008 [38] | 153; EG: 104, CG: 49 | 37/116 | EG: 51 ± 7, CG: 51.2 ± 7.8 |
Major depressive disorder | DSM-IV-TR criteria; BDI-II (≥12); HAM-D | HAM-D: 16.8 ± 4.3 (mild-to-moderate) |
No cognitive impairment | Hypertension EG: 27, CG: 14; diabetes EG: 7, CG: 4; smoking EG: 15, CG: 8; alcohol (≥3 alcoholic drinks per week) EG: 7, CG: 5 |
| Krogh et al., 2009 [36] | 165; EG1: 55, EG2: 55, CG: 55 | 43/122 | EG1: 41.9 ± 8.7, EG2: 38.1 ± 9.0, CG: 36.7 ± 8.7 | Unipolar depression | ICD-10 and DSM-IV criteria; Major Depression Inventory | HAM-D-17: 17.8 ± 3.8 (mild-to-moderate) | Not reported | Not reported |
| Krogh et al., 2012 [34] | 115; EG: 56, CG: 59 | 38/77 | EG: 39.7 ± 11.3, CG: 43.4 ± 11.2 | Major depression | DSM-IV criteria; Danish version of the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview; HAM-D17 (>12) | HAM-D-17: 18.9 (95%CI 13–28) (moderate) |
Not reported | Generalized anxiety EG: 33, CG: 34; Hypertension EG: 11, CG: 12 |
| Olson et al., 2017 [33] | 30; EG: 15, CG; 15 | 6/24 | EG: 21.0 ± 1.9, CG; 21.2 ± 2.2 | Major depressive disorder | ICD-10, DSM-IV and DSM-V criteria; MINI | BDI-II EG: 24.5 ± 11.5, CG: 24.3 ± 11.9 (moderate) |
Not reported | Anxiety (~18%) |
| Zhang and Chen, 2019 [37] | 125; EG: 63, CG: 62 | 44/81 | EG: 31.4 ± 7.2, CG: 32.2 ± 7.6 | Single phase depression | DSM-IV criteria | HAM-D EG: 10.3 ± 3.4, CG: 10.0 ± 3.8 (mild) |
Decreased processing speed, attention, memory, verbal fluency and executive function (at least 1 SD lower than the standardized value) | Hypertension, diabetes |
| Brüchle et al., 2021 [30] | 41; EG: 23, CG: 18 | 23/18 | EG: 33.3 ± 3.06, CG: 40.11 ± 3.63 | Major depressive disorder | ICD-10 criteria; BDI-II ≥ 10; HAM-D-17 ≥ 9 | HAM-D-17 EG: 19.17 ± 0.78, CG: 17.83 ± 0.75; BDI-II EG: 27.74 ± 1.44, CG: 26.11 ± 1.77 (moderate) |
No cognitive impairment | Not reported |
| Buschert et al., 2019 [35] | 30; EG: 15, CG: 15 | 11/19 | EG: 47.27 ± 6.84, CG:47.47 ± 8.47 | Unipolar depression | ICD-10 criteria | BDI-II EG: 22.40 ± 8.53, CG: 18.27 ± 11.56; HAM-D-7 EG: 11.00 ± 3.42, CG: 9.67 ± 4.21 (moderate) |
Not reported | Other mood disorders (EG: n = 1), neurotic, stress-related and somatoform disorders (EG: n = 1; CG n = 3), and disorders of adult personality and behavior (EG: n = 1; CG: n = 1) |
BDI-II: Beck Depression Inventory, 2nd edition; CG: control group; CI: confidence interval; DSM-IV: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th ed.; DSM-IV-TR: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, IV: Text Revision. 4th ed.; DSM-V: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th ed.; EG: experimental group; F: female; HAM-D: Hamilton Depression Rating Scale; HAM-D-17: 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale; HAM-D-7: Toronto short version of the Hamilton Depression Scale; ICD-10: International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision; M: male; MINI: Mini Neuropsychiatric Diagnostic Interview; N: number of subjects; SD: standardized deviation.