App aims to stop depression before it starts: 9,000-person trial launched
NCT ID NCT06351800
First seen Jun 26, 2026 · Last updated Jun 26, 2026
Summary
This study tests whether a personalized smartphone app can prevent depression and anxiety in adults who do not currently have these conditions. Over 9,000 participants in Spain will use the app, which creates a custom plan with activities like exercise, sleep improvement, and problem-solving. The trial will track how many people develop depression or anxiety over a year, comparing the app group to a control group receiving self-help booklets.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- personalized app-based prevention program
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this could provide an effective, scalable way to prevent depression and anxiety in the general population using a smartphone app.
- What could go wrong
- This is a prevention trial, not a treatment. The intervention is self-guided and relies on participants' engagement, which may vary. Results may not apply outside Spain.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 9,000 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Expected to start
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Feb 2026
An estimate. Start dates often move.
- Expected to finish
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Mar 2028
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 to 55 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Accepted
You do not need to have the condition being studied to take part.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Age between 18 and 55 years. * Participants must have a smartphone for their own use in the next year. Exclusion Criteria: * Not signing the informed consent. * Having depression and/or anxiety at baseline according to the PRIME-MD questionnaire. * Living outside of Spain. * Having a severe mental disorder (psychosis, bipolar disorder, addictions, etc.), a terminal illness or cognitive impairment (dementia). * Difficulties in understanding Spanish.
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
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Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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