A variety of exercises, including walking, jogging, yoga, and strength training, are moderately effective in alleviating symptoms of depression, according to a new study published in . BMJ. This comprehensive analysis across 218 studies with over 14,000 participants highlights the importance of exercise intensity in combating this prevalent mental health condition.
Depression is a leading cause of disability worldwide, severely impacting life satisfaction and worsening other health conditions. Despite the availability of drug and psychological treatments, many people do not respond to these interventions or face barriers to accessing them. This gap highlights the urgent need for further evidence-based treatments.
Exercise is known for its wide range of physical and mental health benefits and is recognized as a potential therapeutic tool. However, existing guidelines offer varying recommendations regarding the type and amount of exercise, increasing the need for more definitive analysis.
“As a patient and a psychologist, I rarely saw doctors prescribing exercise for depression,” says study author Michael Noetel, senior lecturer in psychology at the University of Queensland. “Studies showed exercise might help, but I didn’t know what to do. Was the general encouragement enough? If not, what should I prescribe? We wanted to look at all the evidence and find what works best.”
The researchers conducted what is known as a network meta-analysis. This is a method that allows multiple therapeutic interventions to be compared simultaneously by evaluating direct comparisons within trials and indirect comparisons between trials. To be included in the analysis, randomized controlled trials must focus on exercise as a treatment for major depressive disorder.
The scope of the study is vast, drawing from 218 unique studies with a total of 495 treatment groups and 14,170 participants, making it one of the largest analyzes of its kind. The researchers extracted data on the type, frequency, intensity, and duration of exercise interventions, along with participant demographics such as age, gender, baseline severity of depressive symptoms, and comorbidities.
Researchers found that some forms of physical activity moderately reduced symptoms of depression. Walking, jogging, yoga, and strength training were found to be particularly effective, each of which moderately reduced symptoms of depression compared to active control conditions such as usual care or placebo treatment. It was shown.
The study results show that “exercise is an excellent treatment for depression,” Noetel told SciPost.
Walking or jogging had the largest effect size, followed closely by yoga and strength training. Combining the exercises with aerobic exercises such as tai chi and qi gong also showed modest beneficial effects.
A key finding of this study was that there was a proportional relationship between the intensity of prescribed exercise and the reduction of symptoms of depression. This suggests that more vigorous activity may yield greater benefits.
Jonathan Reuther, professor of neuroscience and mental health at University College London, who was not involved in the study, said: told Science Media Center: “Headline results show that physical activity of all kinds (particularly aerobic exercise that makes you sweat and get winded) reduces symptoms of depression. A similar conclusion to many reviews over the past decade.”
“Although the authors report a particularly large effect of dance, this should not be taken too seriously as the number of included studies is small (5) and each study is very small. No. Smaller (albeit still clinically important) effects were observed with gentler types of activities such as stretching and tai chi.”
“One notable finding is that the effects of aerobic exercise appear to be numerically greater than SSRIs, but this result should be interpreted with caution as there are not many direct studies. ” added Reuther.
Interestingly, this study also highlights the acceptability of different exercise methods, identifying strength training and yoga as the most acceptable forms of exercise. This aspect of the findings is particularly relevant to clinical practice, demonstrating that these activities are not only effective, but also likely to be accepted by people suffering from depression, thereby increasing adherence to treatment programs. Suggests.
The researchers also investigated whether the benefits of exercise for depression varied by certain demographic factors, such as participants’ age and gender, but found that the effectiveness of exercise was largely consistent across different groups. It has been found.
“I was surprised that exercise had an effect on so many people,” Noetel said. “The benefits were greater than we expected. Exercise was just as effective as therapy or drugs. We were surprised to find that setting goals did not make exercise more effective. I did.”
“We thought it would be more helpful if we gave more choices, but the more structure there is, the better people will be able to take action. Support is just as important as the movement itself. I was also surprised that momentum wasn’t that important. Intensity was more important.”
Despite these promising results, the authors of this study cautioned that the overall confidence in the evidence is low to very low, primarily due to the high risk of bias within the included studies. ing. Many studies did not involve blinding of participants or participants, a factor that could influence results due to expectancy effects. This highlights the need for future research to address these limitations and further validate the effectiveness of exercise as a treatment for depression.
“Some of the studies weren’t perfect,” Noetel noted. “People usually knew what the study was about (and were less likely to be blinded). This makes the results a little less reliable. Double-blind studies is more powerful and has become the standard in medicine.”
Paul Keedwell, a fellow at the Royal College of Psychiatrists, added: “The findings should be interpreted with some caution.” “Many studies had small sample sizes and were not conducted in real-world settings. Also, many people with depression find exercise very difficult.
“But taken together, the evidence supports that exercise is an important part of the depression treatment package and can also benefit physical health. Depression is associated with increased illness due to poor diet and lack of exercise. I often do.”
Regarding the long-term goals of this line of research, Noetel said: “We hope to improve our understanding of how different types, intensities, and durations of exercise affect depression, and for whom these exercises are most beneficial. An important goal is to identify the amount of ion and elucidate the mechanism of action. ”
“We also want to look at how exercise can be combined with other treatments, such as therapy or medication, for maximum benefit. Determining how best to support them is also an important step.”
“We want people to have more options to overcome depression. Based on our findings, our big hope is that doctors will more regularly Start prescribing more structured exercise.”
“Depression is a big problem. Medications and treatments can help, but they also have limitations,” Noetel added. “Many people can’t take them or don’t like the side effects. We believe exercise is an important additional tool. It empowers people and improves their physical health as well.Next ’s step is to make exercise easy for everyone.”
the study, “Effects of exercise on depression: a systematic review and network meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials” is written by Michael Noetel, Taren Saunders, Daniel Gallardo-Gomez, Paul Taylor, Borja del Pozo Cruz, Daniel van den Hoek, Jordan J. Smith, John Mahoney, Jemima – Spatis, Mark Moresi, Rebecca Pagano, Lisa Pagano, and Roberta Vasconcelos. , Hugh Arnott, Benjamin Burley, Philip Parker, Stuart Biddle, Chris Lonsdale.
