The effectiveness of exercise therapy as an adjunct treatment in treating patients with depression.

Abstract

Research has shown that exercise therapy alone can reduce symptoms of depression as effectively as medication. Depression is a common mental disorder which affects approximately 121 million people worldwide. Furthermore, depression is the main cause of approximately 850,000 suicidal deaths occurring every year. Antidepressant medications, such as sertraline are expensive. In fact, research has shown that individuals with depression spend approximately 150% more on treatment and other health-care services compared to individuals who do not suffer from depression. Despite the growing evidence on the efficacy of exercise in enhancing mental health, organisations and mental health practitioners are reluctant to endorse or use it as an adjunct therapy to medication. This study sought to investigate and provide evidence in relation to the effectiveness of exercise as an adjunctive therapy to depression. It made use of the PICO strategy to formulate the research question: "In patients with depression, is exercise therapy an effective adjunct treatment in lessening the symptoms of depression?" The use of secondary data from bibliographic search of evidence and a review of literature from textbooks, journals and past dissertations were useful to answer the research question. The overall inclusion criteria used for the database search included articles, books, papers and documents dealing with depression or anxiety, written in English and conducted for the period between 1990 to 2011. Bibliographic search for evidence was done using various online databases such as PubMed, CINAHL and Google Scholar. Each paper was critically reviewed in terms of quality, relevance and its contribution in answering the research question. From the critical review of existing literature, this study found that there is a relationship between exercise and depression. The study showed that exercise therapy reduces depression scores and symptoms. Thus, health care professionals should encourage patients to increase their physical activities and exercises.