Carneiro Lara S F, Fonseca António Manuel, Vieira-Coelho Maria Augusta, Mota Maria Paula, Vasconcelos-Raposo José
Centre of Research, Sports Sciences, Health and Human Development, University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro, Vila Real, Portugal.
Centre of Research, Education, Innovation and Intervention in Sport, Faculty of Sport, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal.
J Psychiatr Res. 2015 Dec;71:48-55. doi: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2015.09.007. Epub 2015 Sep 16.
Physical exercise has been consistently documented as a complementary therapy in the treatment of depressive disorders. However, despite a higher prevalence among women compared to men, the trials developed in women are scarce. In addition, the optimal dosage of exercise capable of producing benefits that reduce depressive symptoms remains unclear. This clinical trial is designed to measure the effect of a structured physical exercise program as a complement to antidepressant medication in the treatment of women with depression.
From July 2013 to May 2014, we implemented a randomized controlled trial (HAPPY BRAIN study). A total of 26 women (aged 50.16 ± 12.08) diagnosed with clinical depression were randomized either to a supervised aerobic exercise group (45-50 min/week three times a week for four months) plus pharmacotherapy (intervention group), or only antidepressant medication (control group).
The exercise group presented a decrease in BDI-II and DASS-21 total score scales. Relatively to DASS-21, it showed a significant decrease in anxiety and stress. The exercise group when compared to a control group showed improvement in relation to physical functioning parameters between baseline and post-intervention. Moreover, anthropometric parameters presented only significant differences between groups in fat mass percentage. Nonetheless, no differences were found between groups in weight, body mass index, waist circumference, and self-esteem.
Our results showed that supervised structured aerobic exercise training could be an effective adjuvant therapy for treating women with depression, reducing depressive symptomatology and improving physical fitness. A key factor of this improvement included strict control of exercise workload parameters and adjustment to each subject's capacity. In our study, due to the sample size there is an increase in the probability of type II errors.
体育锻炼一直被记录为治疗抑郁症的一种辅助疗法。然而，尽管女性患病率高于男性，但针对女性开展的试验却很少。此外，能够产生减轻抑郁症状益处的最佳运动剂量仍不清楚。本临床试验旨在测量结构化体育锻炼计划作为抗抑郁药物辅助手段治疗女性抑郁症的效果。
2013年7月至2014年5月，我们实施了一项随机对照试验（快乐大脑研究）。共有26名被诊断为临床抑郁症的女性（年龄50.16±12.08岁）被随机分为监督有氧运动组（每周三次，每次45 - 50分钟，共四个月）加药物治疗（干预组），或仅接受抗抑郁药物治疗（对照组）。
运动组的贝克抑郁量表第二版（BDI-II）和抑郁、焦虑和压力量表（DASS-21）总分有所下降。相对于DASS-21，焦虑和压力显著降低。与对照组相比，运动组在干预前后的身体功能参数方面有所改善。此外，人体测量参数仅在体脂百分比上组间存在显著差异。然而，两组在体重、体重指数、腰围和自尊方面未发现差异。
我们的结果表明，监督下的结构化有氧运动训练可能是治疗女性抑郁症的有效辅助疗法，可减轻抑郁症状并改善身体健康。这种改善的一个关键因素包括严格控制运动工作量参数并根据每个受试者的能力进行调整。在我们的研究中，由于样本量的原因，出现II类错误的概率增加。
