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Background Non-adherence to medication is a major obstacle in the treatment of depressive disorders. We systematically reviewed the literature to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions aimed at improving adherence to medication among adults with depressive disorders with emphasis on initiation and implementation phase. Methods We searched Medline, EMBASE, The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), PsycINFO, Social Science Citation Index and Science Citation Index for randomized or non-randomized controlled trials up to January 2022. Risk of bias was assessed using the criteria of the Cochrane Collaboration. Meta-analyses, cumulative and meta-regression analyses for adherence were conducted. Results Forty-six trials (n = 24,324) were included. Pooled estimate indicates an increase in the probability of adherence to antidepressants at 6 months with the different types of interventions (OR 1.33; 95% CI: 1.09 to 1.62). The improvement in adherence is obtained from 3 months (OR 1.62, 95% CI: 1.25 to 2.10) but it is attenuated at 12 months (OR 1.25, 95% CI: 1.02 to 1.53). Selected articles show methodological differences, mainly the diversity of both the severity of the depressive disorder and intervention procedures. In the samples of these studies, patients with depression and anxiety seem to benefit most from intervention (OR 2.77, 95% CI: 1.74 to 4.42) and collaborative care is the most effective intervention to improve adherence (OR 1.88, 95% CI: 1.40 to 2.54). Conclusions Our findings indicate that interventions aimed at improving adherence to medication among adults with depressive disorders are effective up to six months. However, the evidence on the effectiveness of long-term adherence is insufficient and supports the need for further research efforts. Trial registration International Prospective Register for Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO) number: CRD42017065723.

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Background: Non-adherence to medications is a major obstacle in the treatment of depressive disorders. We systematically reviewed the literature to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions aimed at improving adherence to medications among adults with depressive disorders.Methods: We searched Medline, EMBASE, The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), PsycINFO, Social Science Citation Index and Science Citation Index for randomized or non-randomized controlled trials up to September 2019. Risk of bias was assessed using the criteria of the Cochrane Collaboration. Meta-analyses, cumulative and meta-regression analyses for adherence were conducted.Results: Forty-five trials (n= 24,413) were included. Pooled estimate indicates an increase in the probability of adherence to antidepressants at 6 months with the different types of interventions (OR 1.28; 95% CI: 1.07 to 1.54). The improvement in adherence is obtained from 3 months (OR 1.57, 95% CI: 1.22 to 2.01) but it is attenuated at 12 months (OR 1.25, 95% CI: 0.99 to 1.53). Selected articles show methodological differences, mainly the diversity of both the severity of the depressive disorder and intervention procedures. Patients with depression and anxiety seem to benefit most from intervention (OR 2.77, 95% CI: 1.74 to 4.42) and collaborative care is the most effective intervention to improve adherence (OR 1.67, 95% CI: 1.17 to 2.40).Conclusions: Our findings indicate that interventions aimed at improving short and medium-term adherence to medications among adults with depressive disorders are effective. However, the evidence on the effectiveness of long-term adherence is insufficient and supports the need for further research efforts.International Prospective Register for Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO) number: CRD42017065723

This study examines the experiences and expectations of patients with depressive disorders regarding the disease and different antidepressants, as well as examining the barriers and facilitating factors that could affect their adherence to medications. An exploratory qualitative study was carried out. The study involved two focus groups made up of patients and caregivers and six semi-structured interviews with psychiatrists. In both cases, the participants were selected by intentional theoretical sampling, seeking maximum significance variation of social types. Prejudice about the side effects of medication was relevant. The importance of patients being well informed about the disease/treatments was noteworthy. The stigmatization of antidepressants by patients was identified as a barrier to medication adherence. The involvement of family members and the motivation of patients to be actively involved in the process to recover from the disease were identified as facilitating factors. The work carried out suggests the need for patients to have rigorous information about the disease/treatment to reduce the possible prejudices generated by beliefs. Maintaining greater contact and monitoring of patients/caregivers to help therapeutic adherence in patients with depressive disorders was also identified as being of great importance.