ReviewBehavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland)2020
The Combined Effect of Exercise and Behavioral Therapy for Depression and Anxiety: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Review in Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland), 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
20 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 49 citations in OpenAlex.
- The effects of psychosocial and behavioral interventions on depressive and anxiety symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Scientific reports · 2023Pooled it
- Nonpharmacological approaches for pain and symptoms of depression in people with osteoarthritis: systematic review and meta-analyses.Scientific reports · 2023Pooled it
- The effect of mindfulness group counseling on the anxiety of pregnant women exposed to domestic violence: a randomized clinical trial.BMC psychology · 2025Trial
- Effects of Cortisol Administration on Resting-State Functional Connectivity in Women with Depression.Psychiatry research. Neuroimaging · 2024Trial
- Efficacy of aerobic exercise as a combination therapy for depression compared to standardized therapy: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Annals of general psychiatry · 2026Review
- Article
- Patient preferences for the integration of exercise for depression into mental health care.Translational behavioral medicine · 2026Article
- Exercise motivation, barriers and HIIT preferences among Chinese college students: a qualitative study.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Exercise intervention for rumination: from neural mechanisms to clinical applications.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Review
- A novel approach to cancer rehabilitation: assessing the influence of exercise intervention on postoperative recovery and survival rates.International journal of surgery (London, England) · 2025Review
- Multi-component interventions combining psychotherapy and physical activity for children and young peoples' mental health: A scoping review.PLOS mental health · 2025Article
- The effectiveness of cognitive behavioral therapy in women with gynecological cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Asia-Pacific journal of oncology nursing · 2024Review
- Article
- Lessons and Untapped Potential of Smartphone-Based Physical Activity Interventions for Mental Health: Narrative Review.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2024Review
- Health-related factors of the Iraqi adult population during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic: physical activity, eating behavior, quality of life, general health, and mood states cross-talk.BMC public health · 2023Article
- Physical Activity Alters Functional Connectivity of Orbitofrontal Cortex Subdivisions in Healthy Young Adults: A Longitudinal fMRI Study.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Effects of a 6-Month Aerobic Exercise Intervention on Mood and Amygdala Functional Plasticity in Young Untrained Subjects.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- En route to flourishing - a longitudinal mixed methods study of long-term unemployed citizens in an interdisciplinary rehabilitation program.BMC public health · 2022Article
- Physical Exercise Ameliorates Anxiety, Depression and Sleep Quality in College Students: Experimental Evidence from Exercise Intensity and Frequency.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- The impact of sleep, physical activity and sedentary behaviour on symptoms of depression and anxiety before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in a sample of South African participants.Scientific reports · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Behavioral therapy (BT) and exercise are efficacious treatments for depression and anxiety when employed separately. The combination of BT and exercise (BT+Ex) may augment improvements but the combined effect of these therapies is not fully elucidated. The purpose of this meta-analysis was to determine if BT+Ex yielded a significant reduction in depression and anxiety symptoms compared to BT alone (BT). Randomized controlled studies published prior to September 2019 were searched among several databases (PUBMED, MEDLINE, PsychArticle, and Cochrane Central Register of Clinical Trials). Studies that measured depression and anxiety symptoms following BT+Ex vs. BT were extracted and analyzed. The effect of these therapies on depression and anxiety were analyzed. Subgroup analyses were performed to evaluate the effect of exercise intensity (moderate and high), exercise type (aerobic and combined exercise), and baseline levels of depression. The moderating effects of gender, age, and treatment duration were performed. Data were extracted from 18 studies (1686 participants, mean age = 47 years, 65% female). There was a significant effect of BT+Ex on symptoms of depression. The effect of BT+Ex was significant for moderate intensity exercise and elevated baseline levels of depression. Age moderated the effect for depression. There was a significant effect of BT+Ex on depressive symptoms in humans. Exercise intensity and elevated depressive symptoms may play a role in the effect of exercise.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.