ArticleFrontiers in psychiatry2017
Effects of Endurance Exercise Modalities on Arterial Stiffness in Patients Suffering from Unipolar Depression: A Randomized Controlled Trial.
Article in Frontiers in psychiatry, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
14 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 35 citations in OpenAlex.
- The impact of high-intensity exercise on patients with depression: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Frontiers in public health · 2025Pooled it
- Effects of High-Intensity Interval Training on Central Blood Pressure: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Arquivos brasileiros de cardiologia · 2023Pooled it
- Trial
- Exploring New Frontiers in Pharmacological Treatment of Depression: A Review on Recent Advances.Current medicinal chemistry · 2026Review
- Kynurenine Pathway Metabolites as Mediators of Exercise-Induced Mood Enhancement, Fatigue Resistance, and Neuroprotection.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- Pre- and post-COVID 19 outbreak relationship between physical activity and depressive symptoms in Spanish adults with major depressive disorder: a secondary analysis of the RADAR-MDD cohort study.Frontiers in psychology · 2024Article
- A Cross-Sectional Investigation of the Association between Arterial Stiffness and Depressive Symptoms, Anxiety Symptoms, and Quality of Life.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2023Article
- Psychophysiological effects of rhythmic music combined with aerobic exercise in college students with minimal depressive symptoms.Sports medicine and health science · 2022Article
- A Rapid Review of Randomized Trials Assessing the Effects of High-Intensity Interval Training on Depressive Symptoms in People with Mental Illness.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Review
- Aerobic Physical Exercise as a Non-medical Intervention for Brain Dysfunction: State of the Art and Beyond.Frontiers in neurology · 2022Review
- Study protocol for a pilot high-intensity interval training intervention in inpatient mental health settings: a two-part study using a randomised controlled trial and naturalistic study design.Pilot and feasibility studies · 2021Article
- The Effects and Mechanisms of Exercise on the Treatment of Depression.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2021Review
- Exercise, brain plasticity, and depression.CNS neuroscience & therapeutics · 2020Review
- Sprint Interval Training and Continuous Aerobic Exercise Training Have Similar Effects on Exercise Motivation and Affective Responses to Exercise in Patients With Major Depressive Disorders: A Randomized Controlled Trial.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2018Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundPsychiatric disorders are associated with a higher prevalence of cardiovascular disease and mortality. Regular exercise has been shown to reduce depressive symptoms and improve arterial stiffness as a biomarker of cardiovascular risk. We aimed to investigate the effects of different exercise modalities on depression severity index and arterial stiffness in patients suffering from unipolar depression.
methods34 patients suffering from unipolar depression [female: 25, male: 9, age: 37.8, Beck-Depression-Inventory-II (BDI-II) score: 31.0] were enrolled in this two-armed randomized controlled trial. Central hemodynamics, augmentation index at heart rate 75/min (AIx@75) and aortic pulse wave velocity (PWV) were obtained by an oscillometric monitoring device. Maximal bicycle ergometer exercise testing yielded maximal fitness parameters. Patients were assigned to either high-intensity low volume (HILV) or moderate continuous aerobic training (MCT). Both intervention groups trained three times a week during a 4-week intervention period. BDI-II were filled out by the patients before and after the intervention period.
resultsWe found moderate interaction effects on depression severity reduction [Formula: see text]. HILV showed a 85% beneficial effect in lowering BDI-II scores compared to MCT (HILV: pre: 28.8 (9.5), post: 15.5 (8.5), SMD = 1.48), MCT: (pre: 33.8 (8.5), post: 22.6 (7.5), SMD = 1.40). Reduction of AIx@75 was more pronounced after MCT (SMD = 0.61) compared to HILV (SMD = 0.08), showing 37% possibly beneficial effects of MCT over HILV. PWV remained unchanged in both training groups.
conclusionBoth training regimes showed large effects on the reduction of depressive symptoms. While HILV was more effective in lowering depression severity, MCT was more effective in additionally lowering peripheral arterial stiffness. Exercise should be considered an important strategy for preventive as well as rehabilitative treatment in depression.
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