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Cognitive behavioral therapy and medication are effective for adolescent/young adult (AYA) depression, but not all AYA patients will accept or benefit from these treatments.
To determine if exercise (which is effective for adult depression) is also effective for AYA depression, investigators have performed a meta-analysis involving 771 young patients with depression (ages, 16–26 years) from 16 randomized, controlled trials using validated instruments. Common interventions included supervised group exercise of moderate to vigorous intensity at least twice weekly for 8 weeks.
Results were as follows:
A large effect size was found for exercise verses control conditions (standardized mean difference in depression symptoms, −0.82; 95% confidence in…