{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,24]],"date-time":"2026-09-24T16:19:05Z","timestamp":1790266745163,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":53,"publisher":"Royal College of Psychiatrists","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,7]],"date-time":"2026-01-07T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1767744000000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/www.cambridge.org\/core\/terms"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["cambridge.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Br J Psychiatry"],"abstract":"<jats:sec id=\"S0007125025105114_as1\">\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) shows promise for treating depression, but heterogeneous findings from randomised controlled trials (RCTs) \u2013 likely due to patient characteristics and methodological differences \u2013 limit clear conclusions about its efficacy.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"S0007125025105114_as2\">\n                    <jats:title>Aims<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>This individual patient data meta-analysis (IPD-MA) aims to evaluate the efficacy of tDCS for depression and explore moderators of clinical depression improvement.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"S0007125025105114_as3\">\n                    <jats:title>Method<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      Databases (PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane Library) were searched up to 1 February 2025 for RCTs comparing active versus sham tDCS in acute depressive episodes. The outcomes were Hedges\u2019 g for continuous measures of depressive symptoms, odds ratio for response and remission rates and analyses of individual\/methodological moderators of clinical improvement. Acceptability was assessed via dropout rates. Heterogeneity was quantified using the\n                      <jats:italic>I<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u00b2 statistic. Publication and risk of bias were evaluated with Egger\u2019s test and Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool, respectively.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"S0007125025105114_as4\">\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Of 29 eligible RCTs, 18 data-sets provided IPD, totalling 1246 included in the IPD-MA (651 active, 595 sham; mean age 43.2, 63.4% female). Most studies (90%) had low risk of bias. Active tDCS showed small but statistically significant effects on depression improvement (Hedges\u2019 d = 0.24, 95% CI = 0.11\u20130.35) and response rates (odds ratio 1.33, 95% CI = 1.04\u20131.72), with low-to-moderate heterogeneity. No significant difference in remission rates (odds ratio 1.30, 95% CI = 0.98\u20131.74) and dropout rates (12.7% active, 11.3% sham) were observed between groups. Only sample size significantly moderated clinical improvement, with larger trials showing smaller between-group differences.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"S0007125025105114_as5\">\n                    <jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>In this IPD data-set, tDCS showed modest efficacy for depression. Future research should clarify its mechanisms, considering non-specific placebo effects.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1192\/bjp.2025.10511","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,7]],"date-time":"2026-01-07T11:32:16Z","timestamp":1767785536000},"page":"1-10","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1017\/policypage","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":8,"title":["Efficacy of transcranial direct current stimulation for depression: individual patient data meta-analysis"],"prefix":"10.1192","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0071-0921","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Lais B.","family":"Razza","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/00cv9y106","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"Ghent University"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Matthias S.","family":"Luethi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"University of S\u00e3o Paulo Medical 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