Canadian Network for Mood and Anxiety Treatments (CANMAT) 2016 Clinical Guidelines for the Management of Adults with Major Depressive Disorder

Abstract

For MDD of mild to moderate severity, exercise, light therapy, St. John's wort, omega-3 fatty acids, SAM-e, and yoga are recommended as first- or second-line treatments. Adjunctive exercise and adjunctive St. John's wort are second-line recommendations for moderate to severe MDD. Other physical treatments and natural health products have less evidence but may be considered as third-line treatments. CAM treatments are generally well tolerated. Caveats include methodological limitations of studies and paucity of data on long-term outcomes and drug interactions.

Depressed Patients Hospitalized in Southeast-Facing Rooms Are Discharged Earlier than Patients in Northwest-Facing Rooms

“…Light therapy has repeatedly been shown to have an antidepressant effect in seasonal affective disorder (SAD), and also in nonseasonal depression, both as a monotherapy or when used as an adjunct to antidepressants [1,2,3,4,5]. The human physiology is very sensitive to both the intensity and the spectral wavelength composition of light, and even the LED backlight from laptops, which has a high amount of blue light, reduces sleepiness and notably influences circadian physiology when used in the evening [6].…”

A systematic review of yoga for major depressive disorder

“…Both therapies have been previously shown to be effective for treating depression (Leichsenring et al, 2016). But recent reviews found high dropout rates, low remission rates, and high placebo responses for these therapies (Mathew and Charney, 2009;Pigott et al, 2010;Rief et al, 2009;Turner et al, 2008); and complementary and alternative therapies can be a promising adjunct in the treatment of depression (Ravindran et al, 2016).…”

Physical exercise as an adjuvant treatment of mental disorders. A narrative review

“…El ejercicio físico aumenta el volumen cerebral del hipocampo (involucrado en el aprendizaje y la memoria), aumenta los niveles sanguíneos de algunas citocinas y afecta la neurotransmisión en pacientes con diagnóstico de depresión (13,14). En ese sentido, muchas investigaciones han demostrado una relación positiva entre el ejercicio físico y una mejoría en la depresión clínica y, actualmente, el mismo es considerado como un tratamiento de primera línea, incluso en monoterapia, para pacientes con depresión leve a moderada (1,14).…”