SynthesisSports health
Analysis of the Effect of Different Physical Exercise Protocols on Depression in Adults: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.
Synthesis in Sports health. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers, 4 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
12 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 17 citations in OpenAlex.
- Investigating the effects of different exercise protocols on depressive-like behaviors and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in rodents: a systematic review.Experimental brain research · 2026Pooled it
- Association Between Physical Activity, Heart Rate Variability and Major Depressive Disorders: An Umbrella Review.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2026Pooled it
- Pooled it
- The effect of physical exercise on depression among college students: a systematic review and meta-analysis.PeerJ · 2024Pooled it
- Buffering the effects of work stress on anxiety and depression: a moderated mediation model of physical activity enjoyment and sleep disturbance in China.BMC psychology · 2026Article
- An Update on the Effect of Physical Exercise on Depressive Disorder: A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis and Meta-Regression of Randomized Controlled Trials.Journal of functional morphology and kinesiology · 2025Review
- Adaptations in Mitochondrial Function Induced by Exercise: A Therapeutic Route for Treatment-Resistant Depression.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- The Effect of Taekwondo on Depression: A Meta-Analysis.Iranian journal of public health · 2025Review
- Acupuncture effects on emotional reactivity of youth with self-reported depressive symptoms.Psychoradiology · 2025Article
- Motivational Barriers and Facilitators for Older Adults' Engagement in Exercise during Depressive Episodes: A Network Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Association between Depressive Symptoms, Physical Activity, and Health Factors in Hispanic Emerging Adults.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2024Article
- The effect of physical activity on depression in university students: the mediating role of self-esteem and positive psychological capital.Frontiers in psychology · 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
9 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
contextPhysical exercise (PE) is an effective treatment for depression, alone or as an adjunct.
objectiveThere is a lack of indicators regarding the frequency, intensity, duration, and type of physical exercise (PE). This study aims to synthesize and analyze the dose-effect of different PE protocols in adult subjects in the treatment of depression, based on the analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs). DATA SOURCES: The search was conducted using Web of Science, PubMed, and Cochrane Library electronic databases. STUDY SELECTION: Studies with an exercise-based intervention published by December 31, 2021 were identified. RCTs and meta-analyses involving adults with depression were also included; 10 studies were selected, including a total of 956 subjects. STUDY
designSystematic review and meta-analysis. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level 1.
resultsEffect sizes were summarized using standardized mean differences (95% confidence interval) by effected randomized models. The results reinforce that exercise appears to be beneficial in improving depression among adults aged 18 to 65 years. Interventions lasting above 150 minutes per week of moderate intensity and group interventions seem to have a more significant effect on reducing depression. Studies have revealed that aerobic exercise, compared with resistance or flexibility, has a more positive effect on depression.
conclusionPE can be a way to reduce depression and can be used as a possible adjunctive tool for pharmacological and/or alternative treatments. Considering the findings of this study, it is important that health professionals (eg, exercise physiologists, physicians, nurses, psychologists) promote the practice of PE as a complementary alternative and act early to prevent the worsening of depression. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42020188909.
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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.