{
  "abstract": "Introduction The incidence of depression among children and adolescents has been increasing in recent years, posing significant challenges to public health and clinical care. A variety of treatments, including pharmacotherapy, psychotherapy and physical interventions, are widely used in clinical practice. However, a comprehensive synthesis of the evidence on the efficacy and acceptability of all these treatment modalities is currently lacking. This study aims to use network meta-analysis (NMA) to compare the efficacy and acceptability of all available treatments for depression in children and adolescents, offering valuable insights to inform clinical decision-making and guide future research in this critical area.Methods and analysis We will include randomised controlled trials evaluating active interventions for depressive disorders in children and adolescents. Seven electronic databases (PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Library, Web of Science, PsycINFO, Scopus and ClinicalTrials.gov) were searched from inception to 2 July 2024 and updated on 2 November 2025. Two of four investigators will independently screen studies, extract data from eligible articles and assess the risk of bias using the Cochrane Risk of Bias 2.0 tool. The primary outcome will be the change in depressive symptoms. Secondary outcomes will include acceptability (all-cause discontinuation), response rate, remission rate and overall functioning. Pairwise and Bayesian NMA will be conducted. Small-study effects and publication bias will be assessed. The certainty of the evidence will be evaluated according to the Confidence in Network Meta-Analysis approach.Ethics and dissemination As this review involves secondary analysis of previously published studies, ethical approval is not required. The findings will be disseminated through publication in peer-reviewed journals.PROSPERO registration number PROSPERO-ID CRD42024557384.",
  "authors": [
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Peking University Sixth Hospital, Peking University Institute of Mental Health, NHC Key Laboratory of Mental Health (Peking University), National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders (Peking University Sixth Hospital), Beijing, China"
      ],
      "name": "Jing Guo"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Peking University Sixth Hospital, Peking University Institute of Mental Health, NHC Key Laboratory of Mental Health (Peking University), National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders (Peking University Sixth Hospital), Beijing, China"
      ],
      "name": "Zhe Lu"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Peking University Sixth Hospital, Peking University Institute of Mental Health, NHC Key Laboratory of Mental Health (Peking University), National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders (Peking University Sixth Hospital), Beijing, China"
      ],
      "name": "Yuyanan Zhang"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Peking University Sixth Hospital, Peking University Institute of Mental Health, NHC Key Laboratory of Mental Health (Peking University), National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders (Peking University Sixth Hospital), Beijing, China"
      ],
      "name": "Yaoyao Sun"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Peking University Sixth Hospital, Peking University Institute of Mental Health, NHC Key Laboratory of Mental Health (Peking University), National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders (Peking University Sixth Hospital), Beijing, China"
      ],
      "name": "Zhewei Kang"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Peking University Sixth Hospital, Peking University Institute of Mental Health, NHC Key Laboratory of Mental Health (Peking University), National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders (Peking University Sixth Hospital), Beijing, China"
      ],
      "name": "Junyuan Sun"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Peking University Sixth Hospital, Peking University Institute of Mental Health, NHC Key Laboratory of Mental Health (Peking University), National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders (Peking University Sixth Hospital), Beijing, China"
      ],
      "name": "Guorui Zhao"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Peking University Sixth Hospital, Peking University Institute of Mental Health, NHC Key Laboratory of Mental Health (Peking University), National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders (Peking University Sixth Hospital), Beijing, China"
      ],
      "name": "Xiaoyang Feng"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Peking University Sixth Hospital, Peking University Institute of Mental Health, NHC Key Laboratory of Mental Health (Peking University), National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders (Peking University Sixth Hospital), Beijing, China"
      ],
      "name": "Rui Yuan"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Peking University Sixth Hospital, Peking University Institute of Mental Health, NHC Key Laboratory of Mental Health (Peking University), National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders (Peking University Sixth Hospital), Beijing, China"
      ],
      "name": "Yunqing Zhu"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Peking University Sixth Hospital, Peking University Institute of Mental Health, NHC Key Laboratory of Mental Health (Peking University), National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders (Peking University Sixth Hospital), Beijing, China"
      ],
      "name": "Tong Yu"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Peking University Sixth Hospital, Peking University Institute of Mental Health, NHC Key Laboratory of Mental Health (Peking University), National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders (Peking University Sixth Hospital), Beijing, China"
      ],
      "name": "Yang Yang"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Peking University Sixth Hospital, Peking University Institute of Mental Health, NHC Key Laboratory of Mental Health (Peking University), National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders (Peking University Sixth Hospital), Beijing, China"
      ],
      "name": "Huan Chen"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Peking University Sixth Hospital, Peking University Institute of Mental Health, NHC Key Laboratory of Mental Health (Peking University), National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders (Peking University Sixth Hospital), Beijing, China",
        "PKU-IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Peking University, Beijing, China",
        "Chinese Institute for Brain Research, Beijing, China"
      ],
      "name": "Weihua Yue"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Comparative efficacy and acceptability of treatment options for depressive disorders in children and adolescents: protocol of a network meta-analysis",
  "uid": "2fa179c1-2af9-5bc4-8106-3f25e6a62d2f"
}