Collecting the trials in depression, anxiety & neurosis - what's the point?

Article type
Authors
McGuire H, Churchill R
Abstract
Introduction/Objective: To examine the epidemiology of references on the Cochrane Collaboration Depression, Anxiety & Neurosis Controlled Trials Register (CCDANCTR).

Methods: A detailed analysis of trials on CCDANCTR looking at the diagnoses, interventions used, duration of treatments and treatment setting to determine the extent the references in the field reflect actual clinical settings.

Results: CCDANCTR contains 8,515 references. 4,348 references (51%) came under depression or depressive-disorder. Pharmacotherapies accounted for most trials 6,929 (81.4%) compared with other therapies including psychotherapies. Of the trials which reported setting only 44 (4%) appeared to be of a duration of 24 weeks or more. Only 2,103 (25%)of references were in primary care.

Discussion: There is no doubt this is the largest and most comprehensive collection of trials relevant to the field of depression, anxiety and neurosis ever assembled. At the same time we note that the contents of the register suggest that a change of emphasis is required if RCTs in mental health are to inform the treatment decisions in the next century.