RT Journal Article
T1 Effectiveness of exercise-based interventions in reducing depressive symptoms in people without clinical depression: systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials
A1 Bellón-Saameño, Juan Ángel
A1 Conejo-Cerón, Sonia
A1 Sánchez-Calderón, Almudena
A1 Rodríguez-Martín, Beatriz
A1 Bellón, Dario
A1 Rodríguez-Sánchez, Emiliano
A1 Mendive, Juan Manuel
A1 Ara, Ignacio
A1 Moreno Peral, Patricia
K1 Depresión - Ejercicios terapéuticos
K1 Ejercicio físico - Uso terapéutico
AB BackgroundIn most trials and systematic reviews that evaluate exercise-based interventions in reducing depressive symptoms, it is difficult to separate treatment from prevention.AimsTo evaluate the effectiveness of exercise-based interventions in reducing depressive symptoms in people without clinical depression.MethodWe searched PubMed, PsycINFO, Embase, WOS, SPORTDiscus, CENTRAL, OpenGrey and other sources up to 25 May 2020. We selected randomised controlled trials (RCTs) that compared exclusively exercise-based interventions with control groups, enrolling participants without clinical depression, as measured using validated instruments, and whose outcome was reduction of depressive symptoms and/or incidence of new cases of people with depression. Pooled standardised mean differences (SMDs) were calculated using random-effect models (registration at PROSPERO: CRD42017055726).ResultsA total of 14 RCTs (18 comparisons) evaluated 1737 adults without clinical depression from eight countries and four continents. The pooled SMD was −0.34 (95% CI −0.51 to −0.17; P < 0.001) and sensitivity analyses confirmed the robustness of this result. We found no statistical evidence of publication bias and heterogeneity was moderate (I2 = 54%; 95% CI 22–73%). Only two RCTs had an overall low risk of bias and three had long-term follow-up. Multivariate meta-regression found that a larger sample size, country (Asia) and selective prevention (i.e. people exposed to risk factors for depression) were associated with lower effectiveness, although only sample size remained significant when adjustment for multiple tests was considered. According to the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation tool, the quality of evidence was low.ConclusionsExercise-based interventions have a small effect on the reduction of depressive symptoms in people without clinical depression. It could be an alternative to or complement psychological programmes, although further higher-quality trials with larger samples and long-term follow-up are needed.
PB Cambridge University Press
YR 2021
FD 2021-02-03
LK https://hdl.handle.net/10630/44919
UL https://hdl.handle.net/10630/44919
LA eng
NO Bellón, J. Á., Conejo-Cerón, S., Sánchez-Calderón, A., Rodríguez-Martín, B., Bellón, D., Rodríguez-Sánchez, E., Mendive, J. M., Ara, I., & Moreno-Peral, P. (2021). Effectiveness of exercise-based interventions in reducing depressive symptoms in people without clinical depression: systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. The British journal of psychiatry : the journal of mental science, 219(5), 578–587. https://doi.org/10.1192/bjp.2021.5
DS RIUMA. Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Málaga
RD 23 mar 2026