SynthesisBritish journal of sports medicine2026
Dose-response effects of aerobic exercise on reducing depression in patients with chronic illness and comorbid depression: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in British journal of sports medicine, 2026. 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.
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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
3 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Optimal exercise modality and dose to improve depression in children and adolescents: a systematic review and Bayesian network meta-analysis.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Pooled it
- Body and Mind Intertwined: Physical Activity Intensity, Sleep Quality, and Depressive Symptoms: Cross-Sectional Associations and Exploratory Path Analysis.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Article
- Exercise, cognition, and affective disorders.Frontiers in sports and active living · 2026Review
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Authors and funding
15 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
importanceAerobic exercise is an evidence-based treatment for depression. However, current exercise recommendations do not account for the limited functional capacity of patients with chronic illness and comorbid depression. Consequently, these recommendations risk being inappropriate and having low therapeutic application in this population.
objectiveTo examine the dose-response relationship between aerobic exercise volume and the severity of depressive symptoms, and to determine the exercise volume needed to alleviate depressive symptoms to the minimally important difference (MID) threshold in patients with chronic illness and comorbid depression. DATA SOURCES: We searched four databases (PubMed, Embase, Web of Science and PsycINFO) for randomised controlled trials published between database inception and May 2025, without language restrictions. STUDY SELECTION: We included studies that compared the effects of aerobic exercise interventions with passive controls on depressive symptoms in adults with chronic illness and comorbid depression. DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS: Data extraction was performed independently by two reviewers using a standardised form. A random-effects meta-analysis was employed to calculate the pooled estimate (Hedges' g) and the 95% CI. Meta-regression was conducted to determine the dose-response relationship between aerobic exercise volume and the severity of depressive symptoms. MAIN OUTCOME AND MEASURE: The prespecified primary outcome was depressive symptoms and was assessed using validated depression rating scales.
results36 randomised controlled trials involving 2500 patients were included. Aerobic exercise compared with passive controls reduced the severity of depressive symptoms in patients with chronic illness and comorbid depression (Hedges' g: -0.73, 95% CI -0.99 to -0.46, p<0.001, I CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: This study presents a dose-response relationship between aerobic exercise volume and the severity of depressive symptoms, suggesting that minimal volumes of aerobic exercise can confer improvements. Importantly, it informs stakeholders that achieving the WHO recommendation of 450 MET-min/week is not mandatory to elicit improvements in depressive symptoms. These findings underscore that irrespective of the functional capacity of patients with chronic illness and comorbid depression, aerobic exercise remains a viable strategy to manage their depressive symptoms. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42021282103.
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