title: A Randomized Comparison of Medication and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Treating Depression in Low-Income Young Minority Women.
abstract: BACKGROUND Longitudinal data arise frequently in biomedical science and health studies where each subject is repeatedly measured over time. We compared the effectiveness of medication and cognitive behavioral therapy on depression in predominantly low-income young minority women. MATERIAL AND METHODS The treatment effects on patients with low-level depression may differ from the treatment effects on patients with high-level depression. We used a quantile regression model for longitudinal data analysis to determine which treatment is most beneficial for patients at different stress levels over time. RESULTS The results confirm that both treatments are effective in reducing the depression score over time, regardless of the depression level. CONCLUSIONS Compared to cognitive behavioral therapy, treatment with medication more often effective, although the size of the effect differs. Thus, no matter how severe a patient's depression symptoms are, antidepressant medication is effective in decreasing depression symptoms.
authors.affiliation: Department of Statistics, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI, USA.
authors.forename: Hyunkeun
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Ajou University School of Medicine, Suwon, South Korea.
authors.forename: Sang Joon
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Son
authors.affiliation: Department of Statistics, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI, USA.
authors.forename: Sanghee
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Center for Medical Humanities and Convergent Content, Ajou University, Suwon, South Korea.
authors.forename: Jungsik
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Park
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000928:Antidepressive Agents / Q000191:economics / Q000627:therapeutic use; D015928:Cognitive Behavioral Therapy / Q000191:economics / Q000379:methods*; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000191:economics / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008913:Minority Groups; D011203:Poverty; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D014481:United States; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000928:Antidepressive Agents