depression recovery program dr neil nedley

NEWSTART is an acronym for an 18-day intensive residential multiple lifestyle intervention and education program composed of eight lifestyle health principles that are components of the Adventist Lifestyle that is associated with lower blood pressure (Pettersen et al., 2012).

Identifying these factors and applying lifestyle therapies could play an important role in the treatment of depressed individuals. The Nedley four-hit hypothesis seems to predict a depressive episode and correlates well with the DSM-5 criteria with good sensitivity and MCC but less specificity. Overall, the hits that improved the most from baseline after the eighth week were: Nutrition (47%), Frontal lobe (36%), Addiction (24%), Circadian rhythm (24%), Lifestyle (20%), Social (12%) and Medical (10%). For the eight-week test, the results showed a sensitivity 83.6% (CI 81.9-85.5), specificity 53.7% (CI 51.7-55.6) and MCC. The relationship between the DSM-5 score and a person having four hits categories in the first program week showed a sensitivity of 89.98 % (95% CI: 89.20 % - 90.73%), specificity 48.84% (CI 45.94-51.75) and Matthew Correlation Coefficient (MCC). Ten cause categories were examined as predictors of depression are (1) Genetic, (2)Developmental, (3)Lifestyle, (4)Circadian Rhythm, (5)Addiction, (6)Nutrition, (7)Toxic, (8)Social/Complicated Grief, (9)Medical Condition, and (10)Frontal Lobe. A sample of 4271 participants from our community-based program (70% female ages 17-94 years) was assessed at baseline and at the eighth week of the program using a custom test. We identified 10 cause categories (hits or “blows” to the brain) and theorize that four or more active hits could trigger a depression episode. We propose how certain lifestyle choices and non-modifiable factors can predict the development of depression. Depression is often diagnosed using the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Fifth Edition (DSM-5) criteria.

Depression recovery program dr neil nedley