According to clinical treatment guidelines for depression, a combination of pharmacotherapy and non-pharmacological treatments (NPT), such as psychosocial interventions, is recommended. However, due to the characteristics of an overloaded healthcare s...
According to clinical treatment guidelines for depression, a combination of pharmacotherapy and non-pharmacological treatments (NPT), such as psychosocial interventions, is recommended. However, due to the characteristics of an overloaded healthcare service environment, pharmacotherapy still predominates in South Korea. While there are some existing preliminary studies on the status of NPT and the relationship between NPT and adherence to antidepressant medication among depression patients in the country, there is a lack of research directly examining the effectiveness of NPT for depression and particularly investigating the impact of the timing of NPT on treatment outcomes. Thus, this study aimed to analyze the prescription patterns of NPT within the national health insurance system and assess the impact of acute-phase NPT on adherence to antidepressant medication and the occurrence of relapse.
Using tailored medical big data from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service, this study investigated the demographic and treatment-related characteristics of depression patients in South Korea. Gender, age, comorbidity index, and the type of antidepressant medication were selected as confounding factors that could affect the outcome variables. Propensity score matching was conducted, followed by an analysis of the prescription patterns of acute-phase NPT and their effects on adherence to antidepressant medication and the occurrence of relapse. Calculation of descriptive statistics, t-tests, one-way ANOVA, chi-square tests, and multiple logistic regression analysis were performed using SAS Enterprise Guide 7.14.
The results showed that only about a quarter of the total study population had experienced NPT during the acute phase, and the prescription frequency of NPT other than individual psychotherapy was significantly low, indicating that NPT for depression patients have not yet been widely adopted. After matching, it was observed that a higher frequency of acute-phase NPT was associated with a significantly higher average adherence to antidepressant medication and a lower occurrence rate of relapse. Although the group that received acute-phase NPT had a significantly lower occurrence rate of relapse compared to the group that did not receive such treatments, the occurrence rate did not consistently decrease as the frequency of acute-phase NPT increased. Multiple logistic regression analysis, controlling for gender, age, comorbidity index, and the type of antidepressant medication, revealed that a higher frequency of acute-phase NPT was associated with a higher probability of becoming adherent to medication and a lower probability of experiencing relapse.
This study has several limitations, mainly relying on health insurance claim data. However, it is meaningful as it provides insights into the current status of NPT by type and their impact on adherence to antidepressant medication and the occurrence of relapse during the acute phase of depression treatment, which requires long-term management. If future studies address the limitations of this study and continue to examine the effectiveness of NPT for depression patients, it could contribute to the establishment of evidence-based approaches to improve treatment outcomes for patients with depression.