Impact of citalopram combined with mindfulness-based stress reduction on symptoms, cognitive functions and self-confidence in patients with depression

• Published in: Tropical journal of pharmaceutical research Vol. 20; no. 10; pp. 2135 - 2142
• Main Authors: Chen, Zhenyu, Yan, Langyun, Nong, Xiaoyu, Chen, Fuguang, Gan, Fengkun, Tang, Peizhi, Qin, Jinmei, Huang, Yingmin, Huang, Li
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 20.11.2021
• DOI: 10.4314/tjpr.v20i10.17
• ISSN: 1596-5996

Purpose: To investigate the impact of the combination of citalopram and mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) on the symptoms, cognitive functions and self-confidence of patients with depression.Methods: A total of 98 patients with depression were selected as study subjects and divided into combination therapy group (CT, n = 51) and conventional group (C, n = 47. The conventional group was treated with citalopram, while the combined group was treated with a combination of citalopram and MBSR. Depressive symptoms and self-confidence were evaluated using the 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD-17) and General Self-efficacy Scale (GSES). Cognitive functions were assessed by Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) and Trail Making Test (TMT). Changes in depressive symptoms, cognitive functions, self-confidence and clinical efficacies between the two groups were compared.Results: At weeks 1, 4 and 8 after treatment, CT group had lower HAMD-17 scores but higher GSES scores when compared with the conventional group (p < 0.05). In addition, CT group was superior to the conventional group in efficacy and overall response rate (100.00 vs. 85.11 %, p < 0.05). Also, CT group showed a shorter time of perseverative and non-perseverative errors on WCST and a shorter time for TMT-A and TMT-B, compared with the conventional group (p < 0.05).Conclusion: The combination therapy of citalopram and MBSR is effective in ameliorating depressive symptoms, and enhancing cognitive functions and self-confidence in patients with depression. These findings will increase the understanding of this combination therapy, and provide a clinical reference for the treatment of depression.