Meta-Analysis
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2024. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Psychiatry. Oct 19, 2024; 14(10): 1558-1572
Published online Oct 19, 2024. doi: 10.5498/wjp.v14.i10.1558
Outcomes of the effect of exercise on cognitive function in patients with depression: A meta-analysis
Xiao-Zhen Guo, Cong Liu, Jing Wang, Hai-Rong Liu
Xiao-Zhen Guo, Department of Physical Education, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China
Cong Liu, School of Physical Education, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai 200438, China
Jing Wang, School of Sports and Health, Shanghai Lixin University of Accounting and Finance, Shanghai 201620, China
Hai-Rong Liu, Department of Physical Education, Shanghai International Studies University, Shanghai 201620, China
Co-corresponding authors: Jing Wang and Hai-Rong Liu.
Author contributions: Guo XZ and Liu C had full access to the data in the study and take responsibility for the integrity of the data and accuracy of the data analysis; Guo XZ and Wang J were responsible for the concept and design; Guo XZ, Liu C, and Wang J acquired and interpreted the data; Guo XZ, Liu C, and Liu HR performed statistical analysis; Liu C, Wang J, and Liu HR drafted the manuscript; Wang J and Liu HR Critically revised the manuscript for important intellectual content. Liu HR supervised the study. All authors read and provided critical feedback on the intellectual content and approved the final manuscript. All authors participated sufficiently in the study and agreed to be accountable for all aspects. Our study had two corresponding authors because both authors had nearly equal contributions. Wang J made important contributions to the topic selection, the innovation of this study and the overall logic of the paper. He was also responsible for the writing and revision of part of the content of our manuscript. Liu HR is different from Wang J in that he is familiar with systematic reviews and meta methods, so he is mainly responsible for the specific research methods and details of this paper. He participated in data extraction, software operation and data analysis. In addition, he is also responsible for the writing and supervision of the results.
Conflict-of-interest statement: There is no conflict of interest.
PRISMA 2009 Checklist statement: The authors have read the PRISMA 2009 Checklist, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the PRISMA 2009 Checklist.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Jing Wang, MA, Lecturer, School of Sports and Health, Shanghai Lixin University of Accounting and Finance, No. 2800 Wenxiang Road, Songjiang District, Shanghai 201620, China. 20170008@lixin.edu.cn
Received: April 12, 2024
Revised: August 17, 2024
Accepted: September 9, 2024
Published online: October 19, 2024
Processing time: 187 Days and 22 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND

Major depressive disorder is a common mental disorder, characterized by a high rate of suicide and recurrence, which is frequently accompanied by cognitive impairments, particularly in executive function, memory, attention, and information processing speed. As such, improving the cognitive function in patients with depression and enhancing their quality of life are urgent issues.

AIM

To perform a systematic review and meta-analysis of the effects of exercise on cognitive function in patients with depression.

METHODS

The PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, Embase, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang Medical, VIP, and Biomedical Databases for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) databases were searched (from inception to October 19, 2023) for studies investigating improvements in cognitive function in patients with depression through exercise. Tools recommended by the Cochrane Handbook for RCT evaluation, and GRADEpro and Stata17 software, were employed for risk of bias assessment, evidence grading, forest plot construction, subgroup and sensitivity analyses, and assessment of publication bias.

RESULTS

Seventeen RCTs (1173 patients with depression) were included. Exercise had a small but significant positive effect on attention, with an effect size of 0.21, 95%CI: 0.07-0.34, P < 0.01. Specifically, aerobic exercise regimens of 30-60 minute/session, thrice a week, at moderate intensity, and sustained over 3-12 weeks, were associated with the most pronounced benefits (P < 0.05), with effect sizes for executive function, memory, and information processing speed of 0.11, 95%CI: -0.11-0.32, P = 0.34; 0.08, 95%CI: 0.00-0.16, P = 0.05; and 0.14, 95%CI: 0.04-0.25, P = 0.01, respectively. The evidence levels for attention, information processing speed, and memory were rated as 'low,’ whereas that for executive function was rated as 'very low’.

CONCLUSION

Exercise could improve attention and information-processing speed in patients with depression, although improvements in executive function and memory are not significant.

Keywords: Exercise; Depression; Cognitive function; Patients; Meta-analysis

Core Tip: Herein, we conducted a meta-analysis showed that exercise exerted an improvement effect on executive function in patients with depression. Indicators of cognitive function, including attention, memory, and information processing speed, were added, seeking to provide evidence-based support for clinical practice and a theoretical reference for researchers.