Effectiveness of unguided web-based interventions for the treatment of depressive symptoms in improving the quality of life: a meta-analysis.

IF 2.7 3区医学 Q1 HEALTH CARE SCIENCES & SERVICES

Quality of Life Research Pub Date : 2025-10-10 DOI:10.1007/s11136-025-04057-z

Felix Butt, Jan-Philipp Klein, Cora Schefft, Stephan Köhler

{"title":"Effectiveness of unguided web-based interventions for the treatment of depressive symptoms in improving the quality of life: a meta-analysis.","authors":"Felix Butt, Jan-Philipp Klein, Cora Schefft, Stephan Köhler","doi":"10.1007/s11136-025-04057-z","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Purpose: Unguided internet-based interventions (IBIs) have proven to be effective in reducing depressive symptoms. The primary objective of this meta-analysis was to evaluate the effect of unguided IBIs on quality of life (QoL).Method: We searched eligible databases via PubMed and OVID for articles published between the inception of the databases and the 1st of October 2024. For quality assessment, the RoB-2 tool was used. We included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that examined unguided IBIs, specifically designed to reduce depressive symptoms for patients between the age of 18-65 years. A three-level random effects model was employed for analysing global QoL as well as mental and physical health related QoL and depressive symptoms.Results: In total, 15 studies on 20 unique IBIs were included, comprising a total sample size of 3623 participants. Unguided IBIs significantly improved users' global QoL at the end of the intervention compared to control groups (g = 0.29, 95% CI [0.04, 0.55], p = 0.03). Mental and physical health QoL measurements did not significantly differ post intervention or 6-months follow-up. Furthermore, unguided IBIs had a small effect on depressive symptoms post intervention (g = - 0.37 (95% CI -0.62 to - 0.12, p = 0.01) but not at 6-months follow-up.Conclusion: The findings indicate that unguided IBIs are effective in enhancing users' global QoL by the end of the intervention and in reducing depressive symptoms. The main limitations of this study are the small sample size and concerns regarding most bias domains. Further research is needed to investigate the effect of unguided IBIs on different QoL domains. Nonetheless, this meta-analysis provides valuable insights into the potential of unguided IBIs to enhance quality of life.","PeriodicalId":20748,"journal":{"name":"Quality of Life Research","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7000,"publicationDate":"2025-10-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Quality of Life Research","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-025-04057-z","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"HEALTH CARE SCIENCES & SERVICES","Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Abstract

Purpose: Unguided internet-based interventions (IBIs) have proven to be effective in reducing depressive symptoms. The primary objective of this meta-analysis was to evaluate the effect of unguided IBIs on quality of life (QoL).

Method: We searched eligible databases via PubMed and OVID for articles published between the inception of the databases and the 1st of October 2024. For quality assessment, the RoB-2 tool was used. We included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that examined unguided IBIs, specifically designed to reduce depressive symptoms for patients between the age of 18-65 years. A three-level random effects model was employed for analysing global QoL as well as mental and physical health related QoL and depressive symptoms.

Results: In total, 15 studies on 20 unique IBIs were included, comprising a total sample size of 3623 participants. Unguided IBIs significantly improved users' global QoL at the end of the intervention compared to control groups (g = 0.29, 95% CI [0.04, 0.55], p = 0.03). Mental and physical health QoL measurements did not significantly differ post intervention or 6-months follow-up. Furthermore, unguided IBIs had a small effect on depressive symptoms post intervention (g = - 0.37 (95% CI -0.62 to - 0.12, p = 0.01) but not at 6-months follow-up.

Conclusion: The findings indicate that unguided IBIs are effective in enhancing users' global QoL by the end of the intervention and in reducing depressive symptoms. The main limitations of this study are the small sample size and concerns regarding most bias domains. Further research is needed to investigate the effect of unguided IBIs on different QoL domains. Nonetheless, this meta-analysis provides valuable insights into the potential of unguided IBIs to enhance quality of life.

查看原文本刊更多论文

无指导的网络干预治疗抑郁症状改善生活质量的有效性：一项荟萃分析

目的：无指导的基于互联网的干预（IBIs）已被证明在减轻抑郁症状方面是有效的。本荟萃分析的主要目的是评估非引导ibi对生活质量（QoL）的影响。方法：我们通过PubMed和OVID检索符合条件的数据库，检索数据库建立至2024年10月1日之间发表的文章。为了进行质量评估，使用了rob2工具。我们纳入了随机对照试验（rct），这些试验检查了非引导IBIs，专门设计用于减轻18-65岁患者的抑郁症状。采用三水平随机效应模型分析总体生活质量以及与身心健康相关的生活质量和抑郁症状。结果：总共纳入了15项研究，涉及20种独特的ibi，总样本量为3623名参与者。在干预结束时，与对照组相比，无指导ibi显著改善了用户的总体生活质量（g = 0.29, 95% CI [0.04, 0.55], p = 0.03）。心理和身体健康生活质量测量在干预后或6个月随访后无显著差异。此外，非引导IBIs对干预后抑郁症状有很小的影响(g = - 0.37 (95% CI -0.62至- 0.12,p = 0.01)，但在6个月的随访中没有影响。结论：研究结果表明，在干预结束时，非引导ibi可有效提高使用者的整体生活质量，并减轻抑郁症状。本研究的主要局限性是样本量小，以及对大多数偏倚域的关注。非引导ibi对不同生活质量域的影响有待进一步研究。尽管如此，这项荟萃分析为非引导ibi提高生活质量的潜力提供了有价值的见解。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

求助全文

约1分钟内获得全文求助全文

来源期刊

Quality of Life Research 医学-公共卫生、环境卫生与职业卫生

CiteScore

6.50

自引率

8.60%

发文量

224

审稿时长

3-8 weeks

期刊介绍： Quality of Life Research is an international, multidisciplinary journal devoted to the rapid communication of original research, theoretical articles and methodological reports related to the field of quality of life, in all the health sciences. The journal also offers editorials, literature, book and software reviews, correspondence and abstracts of conferences. Quality of life has become a prominent issue in biometry, philosophy, social science, clinical medicine, health services and outcomes research. The journal''s scope reflects the wide application of quality of life assessment and research in the biological and social sciences. All original work is subject to peer review for originality, scientific quality and relevance to a broad readership. This is an official journal of the International Society of Quality of Life Research.