SynthesisBMC public health2024
Effects of exercise on depression and anxiety in postmenopausal women: a pairwise and network meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
Synthesis in BMC public health, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 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
9 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Effects of different physical activity interventions on depressive symptoms in menopausal women: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.BMC public health · 2025Pooled it
- Exercise as a therapeutic strategy for depression in menopausal women: a metaanalysis of randomized trials.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Pooled it
- Optimal exercise modality and dose for alleviating depressive symptoms in postmenopausal women: a systematic review and network meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Pooled it
- Exercise and Brain Health in Postmenopausal Women: A Review of Cognitive Benefits, Mechanisms, and Neurodegeneration Prevention.NeuroSci · 2026Review
- Latent health behavior classes and associations with depressive symptoms and metabolic syndrome among women with and without HIV in the MACS/WIHS Combined Cohort Study.Journal of health psychology · 2026Article
- Breaking the silence and building strength; rethinking menopause care through exercise and cultural insight.Frontiers in global women's health · 2026Article
- What Interventions Focused on Physical Activity Could Improve Postpartum Depression Symptoms? An Overview of Systematic Reviews with Meta-Analysis.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Pelvic floor symptom progression increases risk for depression, while better physical performance is protective in Asian midlife women.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Innovating Care for Postmenopausal Women Using a Digital Approach for Pelvic Floor Dysfunctions: Prospective Longitudinal Cohort Study.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundExercise has been identified as a promising non-pharmacological therapy for the management of depression, but there is still controversy over which type is most effective. We aimed to compare and rank the types of exercise that improve depression in postmenopausal women by quantifying information from randomized controlled trials (RCTs).
methodsThe PubMed, Web of Science, SPORTDiscus, CNKI, The Cochrane Library, PsycINFO, EMBASE, and CINAHL Plus databases were searched to identify articles published from inception to 1 March 2024 reporting RCTs that examined the effectiveness of exercise on depression in postmenopausal women. The risk of bias was assessed using the revised Cochrane risk-of-bias tool for RCTs. The quality of the evidence for each comparison was graded using the online confidence in network meta-analysis tool (CINeMA). Standardized mean differences (SMDs) were calculated using the mean and standard deviation of pre-to-post intervention changes and then pooled using a random effects model in a pairwise meta-analysis using Review Manager 5.4. Then, a frequentist network meta-analysis was conducted using a random effects model was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of different exercise types using the network package of Stata 15.
resultsThis study included 26 studies involving 2,170 participants. The pairwise meta-analysis revealed that exercise had a significant positive effect on depression in postmenopausal women (SMD = -0.71, 95% confidence interval [CI] = -0.94 to -0.48; I
conclusionFor postmenopausal women, there is very low to moderate quality evidence that exercise interventions are an effective antidepressant therapy, with mind-body exercise most likely being the optimal type.
trial registrationThis meta-analysis was prospectively registered with PROSPERO (registration number: CRD42024505425).
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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.