Effects of aerobic exercise on sexual functioning in depressed adults

Hoffman, Benson M.; Babyak, Michael A.; Hill, Emily; Patidar, Seema M.; Doraiswamy, P. Murali; Blumenthal, James A.

doi:10.1016/j.mhpa.2008.12.001

Cited by 19 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…Sexual dysfunction is a common symptom of depression (43) and may be a common side effect of SSRI’s (44), while aerobic exercise has been associated with improved sexual function among men with erectile dysfunction (45) and with better overall sexual function compared to sertraline or placebo pill (46). …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exercise and Pharmacological Treatment of Depressive Symptoms in Patients With Coronary Heart Disease

Blumenthal

Babyak

Watkins

et al. 2012

Journal of the American College of Cardiology

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202

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OBJECTIVE To assess the efficacy of exercise and antidepressant medication in reducing depressive symptoms and improving cardiovascular biomarkers in depressed patients with coronary heart disease (CHD). BACKGROUND Although there is good evidence that clinical depression is associated with poor prognosis, optimal therapeutic strategies are currently not well-defined. METHODS 101 outpatients with CHD and elevated depressive symptoms underwent assessment of depression including a psychiatric interview and the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D). Participants were randomized to 4 months of aerobic exercise (3 times/week), sertraline (50-200 mg/day), or placebo. Additional assessments of cardiovascular biomarkers included measures of heart rate variability (HRV), endothelial function, baroreflex sensitivity, inflammation, and platelet function. RESULTS After 16 weeks, all groups showed improvement on HAM-D scores. Participants in both aerobic exercise (M= −7.5 [95% CI = −9.8, −5.0]) and sertraline (M= −6.1 [95% CI = −8.4, −3.9] achieved larger reductions in depressive symptoms compared to placebo (M= −4.5 [95% CI = −7.6, −1.5]; p = .034); exercise and sertraline were equally effective in reducing depressive symptoms (p = .607). Exercise and medication tended to result in greater improvements in HRV compared to placebo (p = .052); exercise tended to result in greater improvements in HRV compared to sertraline (p =.093) CONCLUSIONS Both exercise and sertraline resulted in greater reductions in depressive symptoms compared to placebo in CHD patients. Evidence that active treatments may also improve cardiovascular biomarkers suggests that they may have a beneficial effect on clinical outcomes as well as quality of life.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exercise and Pharmacological Treatment of Depressive Symptoms in Patients With Coronary Heart Disease

Blumenthal

Babyak

Watkins

et al. 2012

Journal of the American College of Cardiology

Self Cite

202

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“…Interestingly, a different study reported that individuals with major depressive disorder undergoing an aerobic exercise program were as likely to be in remission as those taking standard antidepressant medication (sertraline) or medication and exercise combined [49]. These results are further supported by a study showing that a 4-month aerobic exercise program was more successful in reducing depression symptoms than a placebo and a pharmacological treatment [50]. In line with these findings, a recent study demonstrated that an 8-month exercise program was successful in improving depression symptoms in year-old depressed women, unlike a pharmacological treatment [51].…”

Section: Exercise and Physical Activity As Treatments For Depressionmentioning

confidence: 93%

Effects of exercise and physical activity on depression

Dinas

Koutedakis

Flouris³

2010

Ir J Med Sci

320

201

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“…Several "psychological" mechanisms have been proposed to explain the antidepressant effects of exercise, for example, increased self-esteem (Craft, 2005, Foley et al, 2008, sexual function, (Hoffman et al, 2009) and sleep (Rethorst et al, 2013).…”

Section: A C C E P T E D Accepted Manuscriptmentioning

confidence: 99%