Background
Cochrane Library Review states that depression affects one million people worldwide; it reduces the quality of life and sometimes results to death. Several research studies have established that psychological therapy and antidepressants administration are effective in treating depression. Alternatives treatment methods such as exercise are thought to play a key role in the improvement of the condition. The article is a review on some of the studies conducted to find out if exercise could be an alternative treatment method by studying its effectiveness.
Objectives
According to the review the objective was to find out if exercise is an effective alternative treatment method for adults diagnosed with depression if the control groups are patients without treatment and patients under antidepressants or psychological therapy.
Search Strategy
The review used Cochrane, Depression, Anxiety and Neurosis Review Group Controlled trial register (CCDANCTRR), PsychINFO, 1967, EMBASE (1974 to 2013), www.cotrolled trials.com, clinical trials.gov and WHO International Trials Clinical registry.
Selection Criteria
The section criteria used in the review involved the use of randomized control trails whereby comparison was drawn between exercise and a standard treatment, a placebo treatment, psychological therapy, pharmacological treatment or any other possible treatments for adults suffering from the condition.
Data Collection and Analysis
Data was collected from both secondary and primary sources; pooled effect was calculated using Hedges g method and a standard mean difference. Random effects model risk ratio took care of dichotomous data. Trials that used many tools, only the main outcome counted in the meta-analysis, trials that used several doses of exercise, only data from the biggest dose was given consideration. The reviewers then performed subgroup analysis and risk bias assessment.
Main results
The reviewers included 39 studies that had 2326 participants in conducting the review. Some of the quality of the studies was undesirable restraining the confidence in the findings; however, when high-quality studies were used, exercise had only small effects on mood and the effect was not statistically significant.
Authors’ conclusion
Impact of the Results and Implementation
The impact of the results is that those using exercise as treatment method could invest a lot of resources in the method but fail to get the desired results or the results could be minimal and insignificant in improving their quality of life. Such outcomes could increase the level of depression because of frustrations and disappointments. Effective use of exercise requires more research to identify the most effective types of exercise and whether exercise could be used together with other treatment methods for maximum benefit.
AN Appraisal of Colleague’s Work
A summary on diabetes done by a colleague is worth reading because it outlines the importance or using physical activities, good eating habits, choice of food and creation of an environment that support healthy eating as effective ways of preventing and treating diabetes among children aged 6-12.
References
The Cochrane LibraryPublished Online: 12 SEP 2013. (n.d.). Exercise for Depression. Retrieved October 7, 2014, from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD004366.pub6/pdf/abstract
The Cochrane LibraryPublished Online: 7 DEC 2011. (n.d.). Interventions for Preventing Obesity in Children. Retrieved October 7, 2014, from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD001871.pub3/pdf/abstract
