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Autobiographical memory style and clinical outcomes following mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT): An individual patient data meta-analysis.

Behaviour research and therapy
April 1, 2022
Caitlin Hitchcock et al. (15 authors)
Journal ArticleMeta-AnalysisResearch Support, Non-U.S. Gov'tHuman Study
Study Details

Study Goal

The researchers aimed to determine whether mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) improves autobiographical memory specificity and whether pre-treatment memory specificity moderates treatment response in depression.

Results Summary

The study found no significant improvement in memory specificity following MBCT compared to control interventions, and baseline memory specificity did not predict treatment response in terms of symptom levels or relapse risk.

Population

Patients with depression, primarily for relapse prevention.

Effective Dosage

Not specified

Duration

Not specified

Interactions

None mentioned

Extracted Claims (4)
InterventionDirectionEndpointPopulationDosageImpactClaim #
mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT)
no change
memory specificity
patients with depression
no significant change
did not significantly differ
#1
mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT)
no change
memory specificity
patients with depression
no significant change
did not significantly differ
#2
mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT)
no change
treatment response in terms of symptom-levels
patients with depression
no evidence
no evidence that baseline memory specificity predicted
#3
mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT)
no change
risk of relapse
patients with depression
no evidence
no evidence that baseline memory specificity predicted
#4
Abstract

The ability to retrieve specific, single-incident autobiographical memories has been consistently posited as a predictor of recurrent depression. Elucidating the role of autobiographical memory specificity in patient-response to depressive treatments may improve treatment efficacy and facilitate use of science-driven interventions. We used recent methodological advances in individual patient data meta-analysis to determine a) whether memory specificity is improved following mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT), relative to control interventions, and b) whether pre-treatment memory specificity moderates treatment response. All bar one study evaluated MBCT for relapse prevention for depression. Our initial analysis therefore focussed on MBCT datasets only(n = 708), then were repeated including the additional dataset(n = 880). Memory specificity did not significantly differ from baseline to post-treatment for either MBCT and Control interventions. There was no evidence that baseline memory specificity predicted treatment response in terms of symptom-levels, or risk of relapse. Findings raise important questions regarding the role of memory specificity in depressive treatments.

Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)
Cognitive Behavioral TherapyDepressive Disorder, MajorHumansMemory, EpisodicMindfulnessTreatment Outcome
Study Links
Quality Scores
SafetyNot Assessed
Efficacy45/10
Quality75/10
Citation Metrics
Total Citations1
Citations/Year0.3
Relative Citation Ratio0.20
NIH Percentile10.1%
Research Impact Scores
APT Score0.05
Weight Score2.19
Normalized Score0.53
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