Aerobic exercise alleviates depressive symptoms in patients with a major non-communicable chronic disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

ObjectiveTo assess whether aerobic exercise was superior to usual care in alleviating depressive symptoms in patients living with a major non-communicable disease.Data sourcesData were obtained from online databases (PubMed, PsycINFO and SPORTDiscus) as well as from reference lists. The search and collection of eligible studies was conducted up to 18 October 2018 (PROSPERO registration number CRD42017069089).Study selectionWe included interventions that compared aerobic exercise with usual care in adults who reported depressive symptoms (ie, not necessarily the clinical diagnosis of depression) and were living with a major non-communicable disease.ResultsTwenty-four studies were included in the meta-analysis (4111 patients). Aerobic exercise alleviated depressive symptoms better than did usual care (standardised mean difference (SMD)=0.50; 95% CI 0.25 to 0.76; Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation: low quality). Aerobic exercise was particularly effective in alleviating depressive symptoms in cardiac patients (SMD=0.67; 95% CI 0.35 to 0.99).ConclusionAerobic exercise alleviated depressive symptoms in patients living with a major non-communicable disease, particularly in cardiac populations. Whether aerobic exercise treats clinically diagnosed depression was outside the scope of this study.

Trajectories and associations between depression and physical activity in patients with cardiovascular disease during participation in an internet-based cognitive behavioural therapy programme

“…A recent meta-analysis of 24 studies evaluating the effects of exercise on depressive symptoms in patients with different chronic diseases reported no differential effects on depressive symptoms with regard to the number of training days per week (2-3 days vs. four to five times) or the amount of time spent (⩽30 minutes or 31-60 minutes or >60 minutes). 31 This is in alignment with another study reporting that relatively small amounts of exericese (i.e. at least one hour or more per week), regardless of intensity, was protective against a future depression.…”

Morbid exercise behaviour and eating disorders: A meta-analysis

“…The potential health benefits of physical exercise has been well documented (B eland et al, 2019;Lin et al, 2015). However, it has also been demonstrated that some individuals exercise to the point of losing control over such a behaviour, and persist on exercising even when this interferes with their professional and/or social responsibilities, or even being injured (Cook, Hausenblas, & Freimuth, 2014b;Szabo, Demetrovics, & Griffiths, 2018).…”

Doing exercise or sport together with one’s child is positively associated with mothers’ momentary affect in daily life, but not with higher levels of overall physical activity

“…Physical activity has well-established positive effects on physiological health, including decreasing risk for cardiovascular disease, hypertension, diabetes, and some cancers [1][2][3], as well as on mental health, including reducing depression and enhancing subjective wellbeing [4][5][6]. Given these beneficial health effects, the relative reduction of insufficient physical activity is one of the nine global targets to improve the prevention and treatment of non-communicable diseases [7].…”