Dynamic interpersonal therapy (DIT) is a brief, structured psychodynamic psychotherapy with demonstrated efficacy in treating major depressive disorder (MDD). The aim of the study was to determine whether DIT is an acceptable and efficacious treatment for MDD patients in China.

Patients were randomized to 16-week treatments with either DIT plus antidepressant medication (DIT + ADM; n = 66), general supportive therapy plus antidepressant medication (GST + ADM; n = 75) or antidepressant medication alone (ADM; n = 70). The Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD) administered by blind raters was the primary efficacy measure. Assessments were completed during the acute 16-week treatment and up to 12-month posttreatment.

The group × time interaction was significant for the primary outcome HAMD (F = 2.900, df1 = 10, df2 = 774.72, p = 0.001) in the acute treatment phase. Pairwise comparisons showed a benefit of DIT + ADM over ADM at weeks 12 [least-squares (LS) mean difference = −3.161, p = 0.007] and 16 (LS mean difference = −3.237, p = 0.004). Because of the unexpected high attrition during the posttreatment follow-up phase, analyses of follow-up data were considered exploratory. Differences between DIT + ADM and ADM remained significant at the 1-, 6-, and 12-month follow-up (ps range from 0.001 to 0.027). DIT + ADM had no advantage over GST + ADM during the acute treatment phase. However, at the 12-month follow-up, patients who received DIT remained less depressed.

Acute treatment with DIT or GST in combination with ADM was similarly efficacious in reducing depressive symptoms and yielded a better outcome than ADM alone. DIT may provide MDD patients with long-term benefits in symptom improvement but results must be viewed with caution.

Most of original studies indicated maternal violence experiences is associated with adverse obstetric outcomes, to date, but it is not clear that the association of maternal violence experiences and the risk of postpartum depression (PPD). We aimed to assess the association between maternal violence experiences and risk of developing PPD by performing a meta-analysis of cohort studies.

PubMed, Google Scholar, Cochrane Libraries and Chinese databases were searched through December 2017 to identify studies that assessed the association between violence and PPD. Meta-analysis was conducted by the RevMan software and Stata software. Potential heterogeneity source was explored by subgroup analysis and potential publication bias was assessed by Begg's funnel plots and Egger’s linear regression test.

Overall, women experiencing any violence events compared with the reference group were at a higher risk of developing PPD (odds ratio [OR] = 2.04; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.72–2.41). Additionally, different types of violence events such as sexual (OR = 1.56; 95%CI: 1.35–1.81), emotional (OR = 1.75; 95%CI: 1.61–1.89), and physical violence (OR = 1.90; 95%CI: 1.36–2.67), as well as domestic (OR = 2.05; 95%CI: 1.50–2.80) or childhood violence (OR = 1.59; 95%CI: 1.34–1.88) also increased the risk of developing PPD. Relevant heterogeneity moderators have been identified by subgroup analysis. Sensitivity analysis yielded consistent results.

Maternal violence experiences are significantly associated with risk of developing PPD. These finding highlight the necessary to protect women from any types of violence and formulate preventive strategies to promote the maternal mental health.