Abstract
Major depressive disorder (MDD) is the most common psychiatric illness. It is also one of the most disabling medical conditions. While the standard treatment has been based on antidepressant therapy, an adjunct therapy may provide some beneficial effects which reduce the level of depression. A randomized controlled trial was conducted. Forty-eight patients with major depressive disorder, who underwent medication with antidepressant therapy, were recruited and randomly allocated to receive traditional Thai massage (TTM) therapy, for 90 minutes, twice a week, for eight weeks or to be in the control group (usual daily life). The primary outcome measures were clinical rating by The Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (The Ham-D), the clinical global impression scale (CGIS), and self-rating by The New KhonKaen University Depression Inventory 14 (KKU-DI-14). Secondary outcomes, including blood pressure (BP) and quality of life (EuroQol 5D-5L-VAS), were measured before and after the first treatment, and in the last session at 8th week. Results indicated that there was a significant decrease in the HAM-D score in the TTM group after the treatment at 8th week (p<0.001) compared to control group. The reduction in depression score for participants receiving TTM was also clinically significant. The results from this study suggest that TTM as an adjunctive therapy with antidepressants could significantly reduce depression score and increase quality of life score (EuroQol 5D-5L-VAS).