Supervised exercise improved quality of life, with substance-use effects still uncertain
A review of randomized trials found better quality-of-life scores with exercise, but urine drug testing did not establish reduced substance use.
Based on the published abstract. The full paper may contain additional methods, results and limitations.
The 30-second takeaway
Exercise alongside treatment improved physical, psychological, and social quality-of-life scores in people with substance use disorders. The pooled result for positive urine drug screens was not statistically significant. Feeling or functioning better is a different outcome from reduced substance use, and this review does not establish improvement in both.
Only some studies entered the pooled analysis. The abstract omits participant totals, treatment durations, and substance-specific results, limiting judgments about applicability.
What researchers found
Participants with positive urine drug screens
Exercise versus standard treatment; assessment timing unspecified. Estimated risk was 0.79 times control risk; the interval includes lower risk, equal risk, and higher risk.
Quality of life was distinct
The review examined supervised exercise in people receiving care for substance use disorders. Quality-of-life findings covered physical, psychological, and social domains, each distinct from substance-use outcomes.
An uncertain drug-test result
Equal risk is the reference for this comparison. The confidence interval spans lower and higher risk of a positive test, leaving both a reduction and equivalence unproven.
The original publication
Supervised exercise as adjunctive treatment for substance use disorder: Systematic review and meta-analysis.
Alserihi AR, Abdullah AM, Bashrahil B et al.
Medicine (Baltimore) · 2025
- PubMed ID
- 41465930
- Record checked
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