Resistance Exercise Might Improve Depression Symptoms

By Amy Orciari Herman

Edited by Susan Sadoughi, MD, and Richard Saitz, MD, MPH, FACP, DFASAM

Resistance exercise training could help improve symptoms of depression, according to a meta-analysis in JAMA Psychiatry.

Researchers examined data from 33 trials in which nearly 1900 participants were randomized to a resistance exercise intervention or to a nonactive control group. Resistance exercise programs lasted, on average, 16 weeks, and exercise sessions usually were supervised.

Overall, resistance exercise was associated with significant reductions in depressive symptoms, regardless of the patient's age or the exercise program's duration or intensity. The benefits were greater in patients with (vs. without) mild-to-moderate depression at baseline.

The researchers caution that smaller treatment effects were seen in studies in which outcome assessment was blinded. Nonetheless, they conclude, "The available empirical evidence supports [resistance exercise training] as an alternative or adjuvant therapy for depressive symptoms."