HealthProtocols
← All sources

Exercise for patients with major depression: systematic review with meta-analysis and trial sequential analysis

2017 BMJ Open systematic review of 35 RCTs (n≈2,498) in diagnosed depression: pooled exercise vs control SMD ≈ −0.66 on depression severity (95% CI −0.86 to −0.46; GRADE very low); effects attenuated toward null in the small subset of trials judged at lower risk of bias.

Pooled primary outcome (all eligible RCTs)

  • Depression severity vs control: standardized mean difference ≈ −0.66 (95% CI −0.86 to −0.46; p < 0.001); GRADE: very low certainty.
  • No remission (RR): 0.78 (0.68–0.90; p < 0.001) in the broad pooled set—also very low GRADE.

Low-bias sensitivity (interpretation hinge)

When restricted to four depression-severity trials deemed less affected by bias, the pooled SMD moved to ≈ −0.11 (−0.41 to 0.18; p = 0.45; GRADE low). Parallel no-remission restriction to two trials similarly lost statistical significance.

Design notes

  • Population: participants with diagnosed depression (not only subclinical mood scales).
  • Interventions: varied exercise prescriptions; read subgroups in the paper for supervision, modality, and intensity themes.

How to use next to mindfulness trials

Pairs naturally with Goyal et al. 2014 when readers ask whether structured exercise should count as a specific active comparator in depression outcomes.

Outcomes

  • Effect Size (Cohen's d / SMD)
    -0.66
  • remission
    Events: /
View original paper →