Effects of physical exercise intervention on depressive and anxious moods of college students: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

Background

Due to the limitation of drug treatment and other adverse reactions, many psychological treatments always adopt rehabilitation training or non-drug intervention methods, while physical exercise is considered as an auxiliary way. A mass of literature has verified the therapeutic benefits of physical exercise to reduce depression and anxiety in clinical populations. However, little attention is paid to the mental health benefits of exercise for non-clinical populations. The purpose of this meta-analysis is to systematically aggregate and quantify findings of the effect of physical exercise on depression and anxiety in non-clinical populations, through which to evaluate whether physical exercise intervention as a non-drug means can effectively improve the depressive and anxious moods of college students.

Significance

This paper combines sport and psychotherapy and links kinesiology and psychology, which can deepen readers' understanding and stimulate their interest in the practice of sport and exercise psychology. The 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has swept the world, causing a global epidemic with serious physical and psychological consequences, and this study may help policymakers and health care professionals to make effective recommendations for psychological interventions for college students.

Methods

The study was based on five electronic databases: CNKI, Wan Fang Data, SinoMed, PubMed, and Web of Science. The quality of the selected articles was evaluated by the PEDro scale. The Meta-Analysis was performed using R-4.0.4, which computed pooled estimates of effect size and respective 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) for intervention. Bias and sensitivity analyses were calculated to explore the source of heterogeneity, and subgroup analyses were performed according to time, frequency, and event.

Results

Synthesizing all the trials, the results show that the study heterogeneity of physical exercise on the improvement of depressive mood in college students is relatively high (I²=63%, P<0.01), which has a medium effect (SMD=-0.63, 95% confidence interval=-0.80 to -0.46). The results reveal low heterogeneity in anxious mood (I²=36%, P = 0.04), with a medium effect (SMD=-0.58, 95% confidence interval=-0.71 to -0.44).

Conclusion

The Meta-Analysis confirms the effective and positive role of physical exercise in reducing depressive and anxious moods of college students. Physical exercise can be used as a non-medical method to improve the mental health state of college students and promote full development. Further research should evaluate the impact of various sports and specific exercise prescriptions on college students' negative emotions, so as to apply them to complementary and alternative therapies.