Mindfulness therapy might be as effective as anti-depressants in helping prevent people with chronic depression from relapsing, scientists said yesterday. Depression affects more than 350 million people worldwide. It is ranked by the WHO as the leading cause of disability globally.Treatment is usually medication or psychotherapy or a combination of both. Yet many patients fail to get better.Mindfulness, which uses Buddhist meditation techniques, was developed to help such people by teaching them to recognise and respond constructively to thoughts and feelings associated with relapse, aiming to prevent a downward spiral into depression.In the first large study to compare this therapy and anti-depressants, researchers found little difference in outcomes.In terms of cost, mindfulness training - often viewed as more costly because it requires more time with a trained therapist - was not significantly more pricey, particularly as it can be done in group sessions, the study found...