SynthesisFrontiers in psychiatry2025
Effectiveness of different therapeutic measures combined with aerobic exercise as an intervention in patients with depression: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Frontiers in psychiatry, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers, 1 of them a synthesis 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
3 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Effects of different intervention modalities combined with exercise in patients with insomnia: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.Frontiers in public health · 2026Pooled it
- Exercise and fluoxetine in Alzheimer's disease: Molecular mechanisms of synergistic and antagonistic effects (Review).International journal of molecular medicine · 2026Review
- Next-Generation Antioxidants in Cardiovascular Disease: Mechanistic Insights and Emerging Therapeutic Strategies.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: Aerobic exercise (AE), as a non-pharmacological therapy, is an effective supplement to conventional depression treatments. However, a comprehensive assessment of combined AE interventions remains insufficient. This study aims to systematically evaluate the intervention effects of different therapies combined with AE in depression patients via network meta-analysis (NMA). Methods: Following the PICOS framework, literature was searched in PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, Embase, Scopus, CNKI, Wanfang, and CBM for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) until June 2024. Independent screening and data extraction were conducted. NMA utilized Stata 15.0 and R 4.4.1, with bias risk assessed by the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool and evidence quality assessed by CINeMA. Results: A total of 37 RCTs involving 3,362 patients with depression were included, evaluating five combined AE interventions. Results based on the area under the cumulative ranking curve indicated: (1) Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD): Electroconvulsive therapy + AE (ECT+AE) > repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation + AE (rTMS+AE) > Traditional Chinese Medicine + AE (TCM+AE) > Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors + AE (SSRI+AE) > Cognitive Behavioral Therapy + AE (CBT+AE) > Physical Therapy (PT) > Exercise (EX) > CBT > TCM > Control Treatment (CT); (2) Beck Depression Inventory (BDI): SSRI+AE > ECT+AE > CBT+AE > EX > CBT > CT > PT; (3) Self-rating Depression Scale (SDS): TCM+AE > CBT+AE > CT > CBT. Conclusions: Current evidence suggests that combined aerobic exercise interventions are superior to monotherapy in the treatment of depression. Of these, SSRI+AE is the most recommended combination, with strong RCT evidence and high-quality evidence ratings. For other AE combination therapies, further validation in large, high-quality trials is necessary in the future. Systematic review registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/, identifier CRD42024594873.
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.