Self-help books and websites can help severely depressed people in the early days of treatment, a new study has shown.

Around 7% of the population of Ireland - 280,000 people - have depression at any one time. Common symptoms can include poor sleep, anxiety, difficulty concentrating and a lack of appetite.

According to UK scientists, current evidence suggests that low intensity interventions, such as self-help books, can benefit patients. However, the severity of the depression often determines who gets low or high intensity treatment.

People with severe depression are often not considered for low intensity interventions, despite there being little evidence about their effectiveness.

The scientists from the University of Manchester decided to assess this further.

They carried out a detailed analysis of a number of studies, involving almost 2,500 patients with depression, ranging from low levels of depression to severe forms of the condition.

Low intensity treatments were defined as those aimed at helping patients to manage symptoms. These included self-help books and interactive websites.

The study found that patients with severe depression got ‘at least as good clinical benefit from low intensity interventions as less severely ill patients'.

The scientists believe that such interventions should be recommended to people as an initial treatment option, even if they have severe depression.

However, they emphasised that people with depression should be monitored on an ongoing basis.

The team added that further research is also needed to determine whether low intensity interventions are a more cost-effective option compared to more expensive psychological therapies.

Details of these findings are published in the British Medical Journal.

For more information on depression, see our Depression Clinic here