Nonpharmacological Interventions for Depressive Symptoms in End-Stage Renal Disease: A Systematic Review

Depressive symptoms are common in patients with end-stage renal disease, which can affect treatment and prognosis. We aimed to evaluate the effects of nonpharmacological interventions for depressive symptoms in end-stage renal disease. Eligible studies were identified using PubMed, Web of Science, the Cochrane Library, Embase, and PsycNET (up to March 2019). We identified 24 studies including 1,376 patients. We found that psychological intervention (-0.60, 95% confidence interval [CI] = [-0.87, -0.33]), exercise (-1.13, 95% CI = [-1.56, -0.69]), and manual acupressure (-0.26, 95% CI = [-0.50, 0.03]) were associated with a significant effect on depressive symptoms. However, few studies reported adverse events, and conclusions about safety should be drawn cautiously. While the available data show that nonpharmacological interventions are potential strategies to alleviate depressive symptoms of patients with end-stage renal disease, recommendation of the most efficacious interventions for this population will require future randomized controlled trials with large-scale, long-term intervention.