Adding exercise did not clearly improve depression outcomes in this trial
Depression improved in both treatment groups, but additional exercise therapy showed no significant advantage over usual specialist care. Full adherence was uncommon.
Based on the published abstract. The full paper may contain additional methods, results and limitations.
The 30-second takeaway
Adding exercise therapy did not produce a statistically significant improvement in depressive symptoms or remission compared with usual specialist care. Both groups improved, and adherence to the exercise program was low. This trial therefore did not demonstrate an added clinical benefit under its delivery conditions, while leaving uncertainty about outcomes with more consistent participation.
Only 22% fully followed the exercise prescription. The abstract also labels a remission estimate as an odds ratio despite an interval extending below zero, preventing straightforward interpretation of that numerical result.
What researchers found
Reduction in depressive symptoms
Usual care plus a 12-week exercise program versus usual care alone, assessed with the Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology-Self Report; exact assessment timing was not specified.
Improvement did not establish an added effect
Symptoms moved from severe to moderate depression in both groups. Because the between-group difference was not significant, that improvement cannot be attributed specifically to the added exercise program. The result also does not prove equivalence.
Cost findings depended on the analysis
The analysis including participants as randomized did not support cost-effectiveness. An analysis restricted to participants meeting an attendance threshold did, but that selected result does not establish that greater adherence would cause better economic outcomes.
The original publication
The (cost-)effectiveness of exercise therapy adjunct to guideline-concordant care for depression: a pragmatic randomised controlled trial.
Schmitter M, Wijnen B, Creemers D et al.
Eur Psychiatry · 2025
- PubMed ID
- 40814823
- Record checked
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