Can depression and anxiety apps improve quality of life, wellbeing, and disability outcomes? Meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

Apps can reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety, yet their impact on broader functional outcomes remains less understood. This meta-analysis examined the efficacy of mental health apps for depression and anxiety on quality of life, general wellbeing, and disability outcomes. Twenty-five RCTs were included. Most trials targeted depression (k = 14), while other trials targeted generalized anxiety (k = 3), mixed depression/anxiety (k = 5), social anxiety (k = 2) and panic (k = 1). Small, significant post-test pooled effect sizes were observed for quality of life (n = 17; g = 0.18; 95% CI = 0.07, 0.28; I² = 43%), general wellbeing (n = 14; g = 0.34; 95% CI = 0.18, 0.50; I² = 63%), and disability (n = 3; g = 0.20; 95% CI = 0.03, 0.37; I² = 46%) in favor of apps over controls. Effects remained significant when adjusting for various sources of biases and were primarily applicable to samples with depression. Meta-regression showed that the effect size of primary symptoms was related to the effect size for quality of life. At follow-up, the pooled effect size for wellbeing nearly doubled (n = 10; g = 0.57; 95% CI = 0.39, 0.74; I² = 56%), but became non-significant for quality of life (n = 7; g = 0.08; 95% CI = -0.08, 0.25; I² = 65%). Apps designed for depression and anxiety may lead to acute improvements in broader functional outcomes.