Mind-body exercise improved anxiety and depression measures in older adults with COPD
A review of randomized trials found improvements in mood symptoms and walking performance, with less certain evidence for health-related quality of life.
Based on the published abstract. The full paper may contain additional methods, results and limitations.
The 30-second takeaway
Across the included trials, mind-body exercise reduced measured anxiety and depression compared with usual care in older adults with COPD. Walking performance and health-related quality of life also improved. The authors rated the mood evidence more certain than the quality-of-life evidence, so the outcomes should not all be treated as equally secure.
This abstract-based summary lacks individual trial durations, exercise protocols, and participant totals. Reported relationships between intervention duration and outcomes do not establish an optimal exercise amount for an individual.
What researchers found
Anxiety symptoms
Mind-body exercise versus usual care, in standard-deviation units; the negative difference means lower anxiety. Outcome-assessment timeframes were not specified in the abstract.
Reading the mood result
The anxiety estimate expresses a difference in standard-deviation units across symptom measures, not a percentage reduction. The authors rated the evidence for both anxiety and depression as high certainty within this review.
Other outcomes need context
Walking-test performance improved, while the quality-of-life evidence received a low-certainty rating. Exploratory regional findings and an analysis of intervention duration raise further questions, but neither establishes a universal exercise prescription from this abstract.
The original publication
Effects of a mind-body exercise intervention on anxiety, depression and quality of life in elderly patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: A systematic evaluation and META analysis.
Yan Z, Zhang T, Ding Z et al.
Complement Ther Med · 2025
- PubMed ID
- 40854412
- Record checked
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