Exercise Leads to Better Clinical Outcomes in Those Receiving Medication Plus Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Major Depressive Disorder
ObjectiveThe aim of this study is to investigate the effects of exercise as an add-on therapy with antidepressant medication and cognitive behavioral group therapy (CBGT) on treatment outcomes in low-active major depressive disorder (MDD) patients. We also explored whether exercise reduces the resid...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2018-03-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Psychiatry |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyt.2018.00037/full |
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| author | Joanne Gourgouvelis Paul Yielder Sandra T. Clarke Hushyar Behbahani Bernadette Ann Murphy |
| author_facet | Joanne Gourgouvelis Paul Yielder Sandra T. Clarke Hushyar Behbahani Bernadette Ann Murphy |
| author_sort | Joanne Gourgouvelis |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | ObjectiveThe aim of this study is to investigate the effects of exercise as an add-on therapy with antidepressant medication and cognitive behavioral group therapy (CBGT) on treatment outcomes in low-active major depressive disorder (MDD) patients. We also explored whether exercise reduces the residual symptoms of depression, notably cognitive impairment and poor sleep quality, and aimed to identify putative biochemical markers related to treatment response.MethodsSixteen low-active MDD patients were recruited from a mental health day treatment program at a local hospital. Eight medicated patients performed an 8-week exercise intervention in addition to CBGT, and eight medicated patients attended the CBGT only. Twenty-two low-active, healthy participants with no history of mental health illness were also recruited to provide normal healthy values for comparison.ResultsResults showed that exercise resulted in greater reduction in depression symptoms (p = 0.007, d = 2.06), with 75% of the patients showing either a therapeutic response or a complete remission of symptoms vs. 25% of those who did not exercise. In addition, exercise was associated with greater improvements in sleep quality (p = 0.046, d = 1.28) and cognitive function (p = 0.046, d = 1.08). The exercise group also had a significant increase in plasma brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), p = 0.003, d = 6.46, that was associated with improvements in depression scores (p = 0.002, R2 = 0.50) and sleep quality (p = 0.011, R2 = 0.38).ConclusionWe provide evidence that exercise as an add-on to conventional antidepressant therapies improved the efficacy of standard treatment interventions. Our results suggest that plasma BDNF levels and sleep quality appear to be good indicators of treatment response and potential biomarkers associated with the clinical recovery of MDD. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T18:26:28Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-7e6dcbd786e54a449aeaffac1dc12456 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-0640 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T18:26:28Z |
| publishDate | 2018-03-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Psychiatry |
| spelling | doaj.art-7e6dcbd786e54a449aeaffac1dc124562022-12-22T03:21:14ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychiatry1664-06402018-03-01910.3389/fpsyt.2018.00037323403Exercise Leads to Better Clinical Outcomes in Those Receiving Medication Plus Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Major Depressive DisorderJoanne Gourgouvelis0Paul Yielder1Sandra T. Clarke2Hushyar Behbahani3Bernadette Ann Murphy4University of Ontario Institute of Technology, Oshawa, ON, CanadaUniversity of Ontario Institute of Technology, Oshawa, ON, CanadaUniversity of Ontario Institute of Technology, Oshawa, ON, CanadaUniversity of Ontario Institute of Technology, Oshawa, ON, CanadaUniversity of Ontario Institute of Technology, Oshawa, ON, CanadaObjectiveThe aim of this study is to investigate the effects of exercise as an add-on therapy with antidepressant medication and cognitive behavioral group therapy (CBGT) on treatment outcomes in low-active major depressive disorder (MDD) patients. We also explored whether exercise reduces the residual symptoms of depression, notably cognitive impairment and poor sleep quality, and aimed to identify putative biochemical markers related to treatment response.MethodsSixteen low-active MDD patients were recruited from a mental health day treatment program at a local hospital. Eight medicated patients performed an 8-week exercise intervention in addition to CBGT, and eight medicated patients attended the CBGT only. Twenty-two low-active, healthy participants with no history of mental health illness were also recruited to provide normal healthy values for comparison.ResultsResults showed that exercise resulted in greater reduction in depression symptoms (p = 0.007, d = 2.06), with 75% of the patients showing either a therapeutic response or a complete remission of symptoms vs. 25% of those who did not exercise. In addition, exercise was associated with greater improvements in sleep quality (p = 0.046, d = 1.28) and cognitive function (p = 0.046, d = 1.08). The exercise group also had a significant increase in plasma brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), p = 0.003, d = 6.46, that was associated with improvements in depression scores (p = 0.002, R2 = 0.50) and sleep quality (p = 0.011, R2 = 0.38).ConclusionWe provide evidence that exercise as an add-on to conventional antidepressant therapies improved the efficacy of standard treatment interventions. Our results suggest that plasma BDNF levels and sleep quality appear to be good indicators of treatment response and potential biomarkers associated with the clinical recovery of MDD.http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyt.2018.00037/fullmajor depressive disorderexercisebrain-derived neurotrophic factorsleep qualitycognition |
| spellingShingle | Joanne Gourgouvelis Paul Yielder Sandra T. Clarke Hushyar Behbahani Bernadette Ann Murphy Exercise Leads to Better Clinical Outcomes in Those Receiving Medication Plus Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Major Depressive Disorder Frontiers in Psychiatry major depressive disorder exercise brain-derived neurotrophic factor sleep quality cognition |
| title | Exercise Leads to Better Clinical Outcomes in Those Receiving Medication Plus Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Major Depressive Disorder |
| title_full | Exercise Leads to Better Clinical Outcomes in Those Receiving Medication Plus Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Major Depressive Disorder |
| title_fullStr | Exercise Leads to Better Clinical Outcomes in Those Receiving Medication Plus Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Major Depressive Disorder |
| title_full_unstemmed | Exercise Leads to Better Clinical Outcomes in Those Receiving Medication Plus Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Major Depressive Disorder |
| title_short | Exercise Leads to Better Clinical Outcomes in Those Receiving Medication Plus Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Major Depressive Disorder |
| title_sort | exercise leads to better clinical outcomes in those receiving medication plus cognitive behavioral therapy for major depressive disorder |
| topic | major depressive disorder exercise brain-derived neurotrophic factor sleep quality cognition |
| url | http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyt.2018.00037/full |
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