Exercise on par with drugs for aiding depression

feeling depressed? check this out - and the other articles on exercise on this blog!

by Amy Norton

Reuters
22 September 2007

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Regular exercise may work as well as
medication in improving symptoms of major depression, researchers
have found.

In a study of 202 depressed adults, investigators found that those
who went through group-based exercise therapy did as well as those
treated with an antidepressant drug. A third group that performed
home-based exercise also improved, though to a lesser degree.

Importantly, the researchers found, all three groups did better than
a fourth group given a placebo—an inactive pill identical to the
antidepressant.

While past studies have suggested that exercise can ease depression
symptoms, a criticism has been that the research failed to compare
exercise with a placebo. This leaves a question as to whether the
therapy, per se, was responsible for the benefit.

The new findings bolster evidence that exercise does have a real
effect on depression, according to the researchers.

Doctors may not start widely prescribing exercise as a depression
treatment just yet. But for patients who are motivated to try
exercise, it could be a reasonable option, the study authors say.

'If exercise were a drug, I'm not sure that it would receive FDA
approval at this time,' noted study author Dr. James A. Blumenthal, a
professor of medical psychology at Duke University Medical Center in
Durham, North Carolina.

'But,' he told Reuters Health, 'there is certainly growing evidence
that exercise may be a viable alternative to medication, at least
among those patients who are receptive to exercise as a potential
treatment for their depression.'

The study, published in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine, included
202 men and women age 40 and older who were diagnosed with major
depression. They were randomly assigned to one of four groups: one
that worked out in a supervised, group setting three times per week;
one that exercised at home; one that took the antidepressant
sertraline (Zoloft); and one that took placebo pills.

After 16 weeks, the patients completed standard measures of
depression symptoms.

By the end of the study, Blumenthal's team found, 47 percent of
patients on the antidepressant no longer met the criteria for major
depression. The same was true of 45 percent of those in the
supervised exercise group.

In the home-based exercise group, 40 percent had their symptoms go
into remission. That compared with 31 percent of the placebo group.

There are several theories on why exercise might improve depression.
For example, physical activity seems to affect some key nervous
system chemicals—norepinephrine and serotonin—that are targets of
antidepressant drugs, as well as brain neurotrophins, which help
protect nerve cells from injury and transmit signals in brain regions
related to mood.

Exercise may also boost people's feelings of self-efficacy and
promote positive thinking. Some experts speculate that group
exercise, with its social aspect, may have added benefits.

Though the home exercise group in this study did better than the
placebo group, it's not clear whether it's as good as supervised
classes, according to Blumenthal. 'Home exercise may be more
convenient,' he noted, 'but patients not push themselves as hard on
their own.'

He added that supervised exercise may also be safer for some people,
such as those with heart disease.

SOURCE: Psychosomatic Medicine, September 2007.