The Effect of Mobile App Based Intervention on Depression and Anxiety in Middle-Aged and Elderly: Meta Analysis

Objective : This meta-analysis analyzed the effectiveness of mobile apps for depression and anxiety in middle- aged and elderly. Methods : A comprehensive search was conducted in five databases, yielding randomized controlled trials published between January 2010 and December 2024. A total of 1,820 articles were retrieved, and seven studies that met the established inclusion and exclusion criteria were subsequently analyzed. The risk of bias was analyzed using RoB2 and meta-analysis was performed using CMA4.0 ver. Results : The overall effect size for mobile apps was small (g=0.13, p<0.05). Subgroup analyses showed a small effect size (g=0.15, p<0.01) for depression, a large effect size (g=0.91, p<0.05) for the mobile app combined with CBT, a small effect size (g=0.22, p<0.05) for the mobile app compared to the no-treatment control group, and a small effect size (g=0.13, p<0.05) for the mobile app focused on depression. Anxiety had a small effect s ize (g=0.16, p<0.05), with a l arge e ffect size for the mobile app combined with CBT (g=0.95, p<0.01), a medium effect size when compared to no-treatment control group (g=0.45, p<0.05), and a medium to large effect size for the mobile app focused on anxiety (g=0.70, p<0.01). Conclusion : Mobile app-based interventions showed small effect size but significant on reducing depression and anxiety in middle-aged and older adults, particularly large effect sizes were found for interventions combined with CBT. Consequently, it can be regarded as a novel adjunctive or combined intervention within the domain of mental health services.