International Journal of Homoeopathic Sciences

Background and objective: Depression is a major global health concern, with India reporting around 47.7 million cases. Management of depression in modern medicine is associated with several undesirable events, such as long-term medication with potential serious side effects, drug dependency, etc. Alternative and complementary therapies, such as homoeopathy, have been explored and reported to be beneficial in this context. However, the comparison of individualized homoeopathic medicine and Kalium Phosphoricum in the management of depression has not been studied earlier. This study aims to compare the effectiveness of individualized homoeopathic medicine versus Kalium Phosphoricum in treating depression among adults.

Material and Method: This prospective, double-arm interventional trial was conducted at Govt. Homoeopathic Medical College & Hospital, Bhopal, to assess the effectiveness of individualized homoeopathic treatment versus Kalium Phosphoricum in managing depression. A total of 53 patients aged 18-35 with PHQ-9 scores between 5 and 20 were selected and divided into two groups: one received individualized homoeopathic remedies, and the other received Kali-Phos in potencies ranging from 30C to 1M. Depression severity was measured using the PHQ-9 before and after treatment. Statistical analysis included pre- and post between the group comparisons were performed using an independent t-test. Post-treatment outcomes were compared using the unpaired t-test to determine significant differences between the groups.

Result: Pre-treatment baseline PHQ-9 scores were similar between the groups (p > 0.05). Results showed significant improvement in both groups, with Group A showing a greater reduction in depression severity (mean score dropped from 14.81 to 7.23) compared to Group B (13.89 to 8.67). Statistical analysis confirmed that individualized treatment was more effective (t-statistic = 2.15, p-value = 0.0359).

Conclusion: Although both treatment approaches led to a significant reduction in depression levels, individualized homoeopathic medicine exhibited greater efficacy than Kalium Phosphoricum, as evidenced by the improvement in PHQ-9 scores. This suggests that tailoring remedies to the individual’s specific symptom profile may offer enhanced therapeutic outcomes in the management of depression.