Abstract:

Objective To systematically identify, describe, and evaluate research evidence related to exercise intervention in patients with depression through the evidence mapping method. Methods Related studies on exercise intervention for patients with depression were searched in CNKI, Wanfang Data, CBM, VIP, Web of Science, EMBASE, Cochrane library, and PubMed from inception to July, 2021. The quality of the studies was assessed using the risk of bias (RoB) tool recommended by the Cochrane Handbook Version 5.1.0 and A Measurement Tool to Assess Systematic Review-2 (AMSTAR-2). Based on World Health Organization Family International Classifications (WHO-FICs) framework, an evidence mapping framework was established, using EPPI software and Microsoft Excel 2019 tools for data extraction and coding, and using bubble charts to comprehensively present the research population, intervention categories, original research sample size, and the number of studies included in the systematic review/meta-analysis, conclusion classification and other information. Results A total of 101 randomized controlled trials and 52 systematic reviews/meta-analyses were included. The randomized controlled trials involved three types of intervention strategies with 15 different interventions, mainly including unspecified exercise intervention (28, 27.72%) and yoga intervention (19, 18.81%). The main research outcomes included b1. Global mental functions (92, 91.09%) and d9. Community, social and civic life (19, 18.81%). Among the three types of intervention strategies, rehabilitation accounted for the highest proportion, with 47 studies in total, accounting for 46.53%. The main research population was patients with other specified depression (19, 40.42%), such as patients with major depression and elderly depression. Forty-six research conclusions (97.87%) were classified as "beneficial" or "probably beneficial". In 52 systematic reviews/meta-analyses, nine interventions were involved, mainly including unspecified exercise intervention (17, 32.69%) and yoga intervention (12, 23.08%). The main study outcomes included b1. Global mental functions (41, 78.85%) and adverse reactions (12, 23.08%). Among the three types of intervention strategies, the treatment type accounted for the highest proportion, with a total of 34 studies, accounting for 65.38%. The study population was mainly patients with other specific depression (27, 79.41%), such as adult depression and pregnant women with depression, 28 (82.35%) of the research conclusions were classified as "beneficial" or " probably beneficial". At the same time, the intervention environment/background was mainly outpatient and inpatient environment. Conclusion Exercise intervention may be beneficial for patients with depression. However, the effectiveness of walking, cycling, Qigong, resistance training, and sports game interventions, the optimal intervention duration or intensity, and the adverse effects of the intervention, still need to be further explored by high-quality study in the future.

Key words: evidence mapping, systematic review, randomized controlled trial, exercise intervention, depression, World Health Organization Family International Classifications