Efficacy of a Multimodal Online Lifestyle Intervention for Depressive Symptoms and Quality of Life in Individuals With a History of Major Depressive Disorder

Background Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a complex bio-psycho-social syndrome that affects millions of individuals and is one of the leading causes of impaired quality of life (QOL). In addition to the symptoms of depression and low mood, many individuals with MDD also suffer from isolation without the sense of a supportive, surrounding community. Given the challenges of treating individuals with MDD, social isolation and a lack of communal connection, this randomized controlled trial was designed to determine the efficacy of a multimodal, online and community-based lifestyle intervention for improving depressive symptoms and QOL in individuals with a history of MDD. Materials and methods The study enrolled 71 female or male participants between the ages of 20 and 64 with a self-reported BMI between 18.4 and 34.9 kg/m(2 )and a history of MDD. Individuals were randomized to either participate in a 44-day multimodal, online, community-based lifestyle intervention or placed on a wait list where they would complete the intervention at a later date. The multimodal intervention involved a self-directed learning program where individuals were guided to make lifestyle changes including adopting a whole-foods diet, increasing movement, and adopting stress management and mindfulness practices. All participants completed the 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36), the Cleveland Clinic Center for Functional Medicine's Medical Symptoms Questionnaire (MSQ), and the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) before and after the online program to assess health-related QOL, overall symptom burden, and depressive symptom burden, respectively. Results A total of 37 participants were randomized to participate in the multimodal intervention with 26 completing all three study questionnaires at both study time points; 34 participants were randomized to the wait list control group with 27 completing all three study questionnaires at both study time points. There were no clinically or statistically significant differences between the control group or the intervention group at baseline. The control group showed no clinically nor statistically significant changes in the MSQ, PHQ-9 or any of the eight subdomains of the SF-36 from the beginning to the end of the 10-week study period. When compared to the control group, the intervention group showed statistically and clinically significant improvements in median (M) scores of the SF-36 subdomains of vitality and mental health, and clinically but not statistically significant improvements in the subdomain of emotional role functioning. There were additional statistically and clinically significant improvements in the mean score of the MSQ and M scores of the PHQ-9 (treatment pre-intervention M = 10.5, inter-quartile range [IQR] = 14, to treatment post-intervention M = 5, IQR = 8.25; control pre-intervention M = 15, IQR = 8, to control post-intervention M = 13.5, IQR = 12.5). Conclusions Our randomized controlled study provides evidence for the role of a multimodal, online and community-based lifestyle intervention to improve depressive symptoms, QOL, and total symptom burden in individuals with a history of MDD. Given the growing challenges of effectively supporting individuals suffering with MDD, it appears critical to further explore the utilization of novel, multimodal and self-directed lifestyle interventions.