Exercise is as effective as psychological therapy and taking antidepressants for alleviating symptoms of depression, according to a new systematic review published in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews.
"Our findings suggest that exercise appears to be a safe and accessible option for helping to manage symptoms of depression," said lead author of the review, Andrew Clegg, Professor of Health Services Research at the University of Central Lancashire, UK, in a press release.
"This suggests that exercise works well for some people, but not for everyone, and finding approaches that individuals are willing and able to maintain is important,” he added.
For the study, the researchers analyzed 73 randomized controlled trials involving almost 5,000 adults with depression. The studies compared exercise to non-treatment or control conditions as well as psychological therapies and antidepressant drugs.
A total of 57 trials compared exercise to no treatment or a control intervention. The analyses revealed that exercise may reduce depressive symptoms, although the researchers acknowledged that the evidence was of low certainty. Nine trials provided long-term follow-up data, however, once again, their data was deemed to be of ‘very low certainty’.
Ten trials compared exercise with psychological therapy, finding little to no difference in effects on depressive symptoms with moderate certainty of evidence. Four studies compared the two interventions over a long-term follow-up and generated similar results, however the evidence behind them was deemed to be of low-certainty.
A total of five trials compared exercise with pharmacological treatment. They found little to no difference in effects on depressive symptoms, although the quality of evidence was low.
Overall, the researchers found that light to moderate intensity activity may be more beneficial for alleviating symptoms of depression than more vigorous forms of exercise. While no single form of exercise proved superior, regimens combining different kinds of activity and resistance training appeared more effective than aerobic exercises alone.
"Exercise can help people with depression, but if we want to find which types work best, for who and whether the benefits last over time, we still need larger, high-quality studies. One large, well-conducted trial is much better than numerous poor-quality small trials with limited numbers of participants in each,” concluded Clegg.
Sources: Science Daily, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews
