Effects of Mind-body Exercise on Depression: A Meta-analysis / 中国康复理论与实践

ABSTRACT

Objective:To determine the effectiveness of mind-body exercise, named Yoga, Taijiquan and Qigong, as a complementary and alternative therapy, on depression. Methods:Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) about Yoga, Taijiquan and Qigong for depression were searched from Web of Science, PubMed, EMbase, Cochrane Library, PaycINFO, SPORTDiscu, CBM and CNKI. They were assessed methodological quality, and analyzed with Revman 5.3. Results:A total of 29 RCTs involving 1379 subjects were included. Mind-body exercise alone was an effective intervention on depression (SMD = -0.73, 95%CI -1.00 to -0.47, P < 0.01), with significant heterogeneity and publication bias. Mind-body exercise combined with medicine was also effective on depression (SMD = -0.54, 95%CI-0.71 to -0.36, P < 0.01), without significant heterogeneity and publication bias. Conclusion:Mind-body exercise can be a complement of medicine for depression. Single mind-body exercise is not stable for depression intervention. More long-term and high-quality researches are needed to determine the actual effectiveness on depression in the future.