SynthesisThe International journal of social psychiatry2025
Impact of structured physical activity on youth's mental health: A review of umbrella reviews.
Synthesis in The International journal of social psychiatry, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
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Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Dance-Based Interventions for Mental Health: A Comprehensive and Quality-Sensitive Umbrella Review of Definitions, Measurement Practices, and Evidence Fragmentation.Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences · 2026Pooled it
- Is martial arts participation associated with sleep quality among Chinese adolescents? A cross-sectional baseline survey.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Article
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
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Abstract
backgroundThe role of physical activity (PA) in addressing mental health issues across the lifespan is expanding. Although the focus is primarily on the adult population, this underestimates the potential implementation of these complementary interventions in children and adolescents.
aimWe synthesize the outcomes of umbrella reviews addressing the effectiveness of structured PA on young people's mental health.
methodsWe searched the literature following the PRISMA-ScR methodology for systematic searches consulting the electronic databases of Pubmed, Cochrane Reviews Library, PsycINFO, and PsycArticles, with pre-established eligibility criteria.
resultsWe included 13 umbrella reviews, published from 2011 to 2023, comprising 91 systematic and meta-analytic reviews. Exercise is the most frequent form of PA (11/13), followed by sports (4/13), dance (3/13), and yoga (1/13). The most consistent positive effects of PA in this portion of the population concerned depressive symptoms, followed by anxiety symptoms. Promising effects were reported for attention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. Other mental health-related outcomes that emerged as positively influenced by PA concern suicidal ideation, self-esteem, and social functioning, with positive effects of exercise and sport.
conclusionsWe suggest that structured PA has promising effects on youth's mental health although more evidence needs to be gathered. Indeed, although most of the umbrella reviews were of high quality, some methodological weaknesses of primary studies were noted, such as the large data heterogeneity, which, if not adequately addressed, can lead to results that underestimate the complexity of applying PA in clinical practice. Future RCT studies are needed to verify the effectiveness of rigorous PA programs on selected psychopathologies, allowing to expand the current evidence-based recommendations and guidelines, tailoring interventions comprising sport and physical activity to the specific needs of youth.
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