Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 4, 2025
Author Spotlight: Integrating Tai Chi with Mindfulness Training to Achieve an Effective Mind-Body Exercise
Published on: July 14, 2023
Evaluating the effect of exercise-based interventions on functioning in people with transdiagnostic depressive
Aitana García-Estela1, Natalia Angarita-Osorio1, Marlene Charlotte Holzhausen2
1Department of Psychiatry and Forensic Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain; Mental Health Research Group, Hospital del Mar Research Institute, Barcelona, Spain; Centre for Biomedical Research in Mental Health Network (CIBERSAM), Madrid, Spain.
Background:
Depressive symptoms are associated with various conditions and can exacerbate the outcome of somatic diseases. Transdiagnostic symptom-based approaches provide treatment flexibility, and exercise has demonstrated benefits beyond clinical symptoms. This work aimed to synthesise and establish the effects of exercise-based interventions on global functioning and quality of life in adults with transdiagnostic depressive symptoms, as well as their impact on clinical symptoms.
Methods:
A systematic review was conducted following PRISMA guidelines. PubMed, Scopus and PsycINFO databases were searched from inception to April 2023. Eligibility criteria included randomised controlled trials involving adults with transdiagnostic depressive symptoms who received exercise-based interventions and provided details of the interventions. Comparators included treatment as usual or other active control groups. The Cochrane quality assessment tool was used for quality assessment.
Results:
Fifteen articles involving 2064 participants were included. Data on study design, sample, intervention characteristics, and outcomes were extracted. Several trials demonstrated the expected positive effects of exercise on functioning (7/15). Most results supported the benefits of adjunctive exercise interventions on illness outcomes.
Limitations:
The studies had methodological limitations, including small sample sizes and an underrepresentation of somatic diseases.
Conclusions:
The functional consequences of exercise-based interventions targeting depressive symptoms are often understudied. Incorporating exercise routinely as an add-on treatment for transdiagnostic depressive symptoms could improve overall functioning, quality of life, and symptom severity. There is a need to expand the focus of exercise-based interventions to incorporate functional outcomes. Future research should address the methodological limitations and include a wider range of participants, including those with somatic diseases.
More Related Videos
07:26Conducting Maximal and Submaximal Endurance Exercise Testing to Measure Physiological and Biological Responses to Acute Exercise in Humans
Published on: October 17, 2018
07:27Exergaming in Older People Living with HIV Improves Balance, Mobility and Ameliorates Some Aspects of Frailty
Published on: October 6, 2016
Related Concept Videos
01:25Stress Prevention and Stress Management Techniques III
The Role of Exercise in Stress Management
Regular physical activity is essential for reducing stress and promoting cardiovascular health. Exercise strengthens the heart, enhances blood flow, keeps blood vessels flexible, and helps lower blood pressure, all of which reduce the body's stress response. Research shows that adults who exercise regularly have nearly half the...
01:30Electroconvulsive Therapy
01:18Depression: Overview