ArticleMental health and physical activity2020
Physical activity and the prevention, reduction, and treatment of alcohol and other drug use across the lifespan (The PHASE review): A systematic review.
Article in Mental health and physical activity, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 35 papers, 3 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
35 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- The effects of exercise interventions on substance-use outcomes: A meta-analytic and systematic review.Experimental and clinical psychopharmacology · 2025Pooled it
- Which interventions for alcohol use should be included in a universal healthcare benefit package? An umbrella review of targeted interventions to address harmful drinking and dependence.BMC public health · 2023Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Effects of Acute Exercise on Affect, Anxiety, and Self-Esteem in Poly-Substance Dependent Inpatients.European addiction research · 2023Trial
- From withdrawal to motivation: The feasibility, acceptability and early clinical benefits of adapted physical activity during inpatient alcohol withdrawal.Addictive behaviors reports · 2026Article
- Exercise Training Interventions as Therapeutic Approaches in Substance Use Disorder Treatment: A Scoping Review of Direct Clinical Outcomes and Implementation Strategies.Diseases (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Utility of substance-free alternatives in treating and preventing harmful substance use: A narrative review of the translational research spectrum.Drug and alcohol dependence reports · 2025Review
- Voluntary wheel-running reduces harmful drinking in a genetic risk model for drinking to intoxication.Alcohol (Fayetteville, N.Y.) · 2025Article
- Young people's perspectives on integrating physical activity interventions into youth substance use treatment practice: a mixed-methods study.Addiction science & clinical practice · 2025Article
- The Inner Road to Happiness: A Narrative Review Exploring the Interoceptive Benefits of Exercise for Well-Being.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- The association between medical fitness facility attendance and incident mental disorders.Canadian journal of public health = Revue canadienne de sante publique · 2025Article
- Integrating an exercise program into opioid agonist therapy: a pilot study on feasibility, fitness improvements, and participation challenges.Addiction science & clinical practice · 2025Article
- The urban physical environment and leisure-time physical activity in early midlife: a FinnTwin12 study.Health & place · 2025Article
- Too young to pour: the global crisis of underage alcohol use.Frontiers in public health · 2025Review
- Moving beyond animal models: enriched environments and human substance use disorders.Frontiers in behavioral neuroscience · 2025Article
- Association of physical activity and sitting time with tobacco and alcohol use in 222,495 adolescents from 66 countries.BMC pediatrics · 2024Article
- Enhancing Substance Use Disorder Recovery through Integrated Physical Activity and Behavioral Interventions: A Comprehensive Approach to Treatment and Prevention.Brain sciences · 2024Article
- A qualitative study of experiences with physical activity among people receiving opioid agonist therapy.Substance abuse treatment, prevention, and policy · 2024Article
- The association between exercise and prescription opioid misuse: A scoping review.Experimental and clinical psychopharmacology · 2024Article
- Exploring the Impact of Web-Based vs. In-Person Exercise Training on Benefits and Adherence in Substance Use Disorder Interventions: A Pilot Study.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
12 authors.
Funding
Abstract
The aim of this review is to systematically describe and quantify the effects of PA interventions on alcohol and other drug use outcomes, and to identify any apparent effect of PA dose and type, possible mechanisms of effect, and any other aspect of intervention delivery (e.g. key behaviour change processes), within a framework to inform the design and evaluation of future interventions. Systematic searches were designed to identify published and grey literature on the role of PA for reducing the risk of progression to alcohol and other drug use (PREVENTION), supporting individuals to reduce alcohol and other drug use for harm reduction (REDUCTION), and promote abstinence and relapse prevention during and after treatment of alcohol and other drug use (TREATMENT). Searches identified 49,518 records, with 49,342 excluded on title and abstract. We screened 176 full text articles from which we included 32 studies in 32 papers with quantitative results of relevance to this review. Meta-analysis of two studies showed a significant effect of PA on prevention of alcohol initiation (risk ratio [RR]: 0.72, 95%CI: 0.61 to 0.85). Meta-analysis of four studies showed no clear evidence for an effect of PA on alcohol consumption (Standardised Mean Difference [SMD]: 0.19, 95%, Confidence Interval -0.57 to 0.18). We were unable to quantitatively examine the effects of PA interventions on other drug use alone, or in combination with alcohol use, for prevention, reduction or treatment. Among the 19 treatment studies with an alcohol and other drug use outcome, there was a trend for promising short-term effect but with limited information about intervention fidelity and exercise dose, there was a moderate to high risk of bias. We identified no studies reporting the cost-effectiveness of interventions. More rigorous and well-designed research is needed. Our novel approach to the review provides a clearer guide to achieve this in future research questions addressed to inform policy and practice for different populations and settings.
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.