Exercise interventions are most consistently supported for depressive disorders: an umbrella review of diagnosed depressive and anxiety disorders - Summary - MDSpire
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Exercise interventions are most consistently supported for depressive disorders: an umbrella review of diagnosed depressive and anxiety disorders
To synthesize the efficacy, acceptability, and tolerability of structured exercise interventions for adults with clinically diagnosed depressive or anxiety disorders.
Approach:
Review Methodology: Conducted an umbrella review of systematic reviews, meta-analyses, and network meta-analyses of structured exercise interventions, searching six databases from inception to 1 March 2023.
Key Findings:
Nine reviews met eligibility criteria; four provided extractable primary overall review-level estimates for core psychiatric symptom outcomes.
One review rated as high quality, three as low, and five as critically low according to AMSTAR 2.
Aerobic exercise showed a large reduction in depressive symptoms in major depressive disorder (Hedges’ g = -0.79).
Broader review-level estimates favored exercise for depressive symptoms (SMD = -0.97) and anxiety symptoms (SMD = -0.66), but heterogeneity was high.
Anxiety-disorder-specific evidence showed no clear benefit over selected controls (SMD = 0.02).
Acceptability estimates were close to null, and adverse-event reporting was insufficient for safety conclusions.
Interpretation:
Exercise is supported as an adjunctive component of care for depressive disorders, while efficacy for anxiety disorders remains uncertain due to methodological issues.
Limitations:
High heterogeneity in evidence for depressive and anxiety disorders may affect the reliability of findings.
Insufficient safety reporting and low quality of several reviews limit the conclusions that can be drawn.
Conclusion:
Exercise is an adjunctive treatment for depressive disorders, but its role in anxiety disorders requires further investigation.
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