Abstracts

Background

Naturopathic medicine uses natural and evidence-based treatments to promote health. The objective of this study was to characterize and evaluate the effectiveness of naturopathic medicine in reducing symptoms of anxiety and depression in patients seeking care from the Mental Health Shift at a Canadian naturopathic teaching clinic.

Methods

Charts of 192 consecutive patients who attended appointments between 1 January 2019 and 6 March 2020 were reviewed. Subjects were included if they screened positive on the General Anxiety Disorder 7 (GAD7) or the Patient Health Questionnaire 9 (PHQ9) and attended follow up at least 4 weeks after initial treatment.

Results

Of the 22 included subjects, a clinically significant decrease of at least 5 points occurred in 76% of individuals with elevated baseline PHQ9 scores and 59% of individuals with elevated GAD7 scores. Mean PHQ9 and GAD7 scores decreased 7.5 (p

Conclusion

Naturopathic medicine as performed on the Mental Health Shift may be effective in reducing depression and anxiety symptoms as an adjunctive treatment. Further research incorporating comparison groups is warranted.

DOI link: https://doi.org/10.54434/candj.157