ArticleBMC psychiatry2020
Exercise enhances: study protocol of a randomized controlled trial on aerobic exercise as depression treatment augmentation.
Article in BMC psychiatry, 2020. 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.
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
14 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 27 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effectiveness of physiotherapy techniques on depressive symptoms in older adults: a systematic review.Frontiers in public health · 2025Pooled it
- The antidepressive mechanism of Longya Lilium combined with Fluoxetine in mice with depression-like behaviors.NPJ systems biology and applications · 2024Pooled it
- The (cost-)effectiveness of exercise therapy adjunct to guideline-concordant care for depression: a pragmatic randomised controlled trial.European psychiatry : the journal of the Association of European Psychiatrists · 2025Trial
- Comparative effects of various exercise interventions on anxiety and depression symptoms in children and adolescents: a network meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.European child & adolescent psychiatry · 2026Review
- Effects of exercise supplementary to standard therapy on cognition and sleep in depression: a randomised controlled trial.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Article
- Plateau Environment, Gut Microbiota, and Depression: A Possible Concealed Connection?Current issues in molecular biology · 2025Review
- Article
- Association Between Health-Related Physical Fitness and Depressive Symptoms in Chinese Adolescents: A Nationwide Cross-Sectional Study Under the Healthy China Initiative.Neuropsychiatric disease and treatment · 2025Article
- Using the Complex Network Model to Associate Nutritional, Psychological, and Physical Parameters and Aspects of Sleep with Depression Symptoms.Journal of clinical medicine · 2024Article
- Death-associated protein kinase 1 is associated with cognitive dysfunction in major depressive disorder.Neural regeneration research · 2023Article
- Personalized training as a promoter for physical activity in people with depressive disorder-a randomized controlled trial in Germany.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2023Article
- Physical activity and depression of Chinese college students: chain mediating role of rumination and anxiety.Frontiers in psychology · 2023Article
- Antidepressant medication prescribing patterns in Irish general practice from 2016 to 2020 to assess for long-term use.Irish journal of medical science · 2022Article
- The Effects and Mechanisms of Exercise on the Treatment of Depression.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2021Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
10 authors at 5 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundMajor depressive disorder (MDD) is a considerable public health concern. In spite of evidence-based treatments for MDD, many patients do not improve and relapse is common. Therefore, improving treatment outcomes is much needed and adjunct exercise treatment may have great potential. Exercise was shown to be effective as monotherapy for depression and as augmentation strategy, with evidence for increasing neuroplasticity. Data on the cost-effectiveness and the long-term effects of adjunct exercise treatment are missing. Similarly, the cognitive pathways toward remission are not well understood.
methodsThe present study is designed as a multicenter randomized superiority trial in two parallel groups with follow-up assessments up to 15 months. Currently depressed outpatients (N = 120) are randomized to guideline concordant Standard Care (gcSC) alone or gcSC with adjunct exercise treatment for 12 weeks. Randomization is stratified by gender and setting, using a four, six, and eight block design. Exercise treatment is offered in accordance with the NICE guidelines and empirical evidence, consisting of one supervised and two at-home exercise sessions per week at moderate intensity. We expect that gcSC with adjunct exercise treatment is more (cost-)effective in decreasing depressive symptoms compared to gcSC alone. Moreover, we will investigate the effect of adjunct exercise treatment on other health-related outcomes (i.e. functioning, fitness, physical activity, health-related quality of life, and motivation and energy). In addition, the mechanisms of change will be studied by exploring any change in rumination, self-esteem, and memory bias as possible mediators between exercise treatment and depression outcomes. DISCUSSION: The present trial aims to inform the scientific and clinical community about the (cost-)effectiveness and psychosocial mechanisms of change of adjunct exercise treatment when implemented in the mental health service setting. Results of the present study may improve treatment outcomes in MDD and facilitate implementation of prescriptive exercise treatment in outpatient settings.
trial registrationThis trial is registered within the Netherlands Trial Register (code: NL8432 , date: 6th March, 2020).
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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.