Table 1 Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria

Participants

(1) Study participants are at least 18 years old;

(2) Major depressive disorder patients are included at least one of the following requirements:

①Diagnosed by the clinical doctor; ②Study participants must meet the inclusion criteria for major depressive disorder patients based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th/5th Edition (DSM-4/DSM-5) or the International Statistical Classification of Diseases 10th/11th Revision (ICD-10/ICD-11).

Participants who have psychiatric or physical diseases except for major depressive disorder.

Interventions

Interventions must be presented in detail and involve both meditation/mindfulness and yoga components:

(1) Each Intervention must have the same parts and encompass; meditation/mindfulness, asanas (yoga posture), and pranayama (yoga breathing techniques); (2) Yoga is the main intervention that its movement component (physical activity); (3) Duration and frequency of the practice do not affect the Intervention’s eligibility; (4) All forms of intervention are included, like online/DVD/offline, etc.

Interventions may mention mindfulness or meditation practices, but the primary components, such as laughter yoga, are not mindfulness or meditation elements.

Comparison

There is no limitation on the comparator arm. It can be any other intervention type, like other psychological and physical interventions/waitlist controls/usual treatment, etc.

N/A

Outcomes

(1) Studies include at least one measurement of depression, anxiety, rumination;

(2) All of them were measured by validated self-reported or clinician-administered scales (For example, Depression can be measured by the Beck Depression Inventory or the Hamilton Rating Scale; Anxiety can be measured by the Hamilton Anxiety Scale; Rumination can be measured by the Ruminative Responses Scale).

N/A

Study design

Only randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in English or Chinese were eligible.

(1) Duplicated studies; (2) Full text cannot be reached; (3) No data or not clear reported for analysis; (4) Unpublished literature; (5) Studies lacking comparison group; (6) RCTs registries or ongoing studies.

Setting

There were no restrictions on places. It could take place in any other places like hospitals, centers, homes, etc.

N/A