College of Physical Education and Health Sciences, Zhejiang Normal University, 321004, Jinhua, Zhejiang, China.
BMC Pediatr. 2023 Aug 22;23(1):411. doi: 10.1186/s12887-023-04247-z.
Anxiety, depression, and stress are the most common mental health problems in childhood. Exercise interventions in childhood help to promote mental health.
To investigate the relationship between exercise interventions and improvement of negative emotions such as anxiety, depression, and stress in children (5-12 years).
Articles were searched in five electronic databases from their inception to January 2023. The meta-analysis was performed using Stata 16.0.
Twenty-three intervention studies included 6830 children. 1) The exercise intervention group was significantly better than the control group in improving negative emotions (Standard Mean Difference SMD=-0.25, 95% Confidence Intervals CI: -0.34 to -0.15, P < 0.01). Exercise intervention improved different kinds of negative emotions: anxiety (SMD=-0.19, 95% CI: -0.33 to -0.06, P < 0.01), depression (SMD=-0.22, 95% CI: -0.43 to -0.01, P < 0.01), and stress (SMD=-0.33, 95% CI: -0.53 to -0.14, P < 0.01); it was most effective at relieving problematic stress. Exercise interventions lasting 20-45 min were most effective in improving children's negative emotions (SMD=-0.38, 95% CI: -0.56 to -0.20, P < 0.01). An exercise intervention period of 10 weeks was more effective in improving children's negative mood (SMD=-0.26, 95% CI: -0.34 to -0.17, P = 0.274).
Exercise interventions may improve negative emotions such as anxiety, depression, and stress in children. These findings may have clinical implications for children with negative affect. However, these studies showed a large heterogeneity, and the results should be interpreted with caution. Future studies should report the variability of exercise interventions by gender, age group, and type, intensity, and place of exercise.
焦虑、抑郁和压力是儿童中最常见的心理健康问题。儿童时期的运动干预有助于促进心理健康。
探讨运动干预与改善儿童（5-12 岁）焦虑、抑郁和压力等负性情绪的关系。
从建库至 2023 年 1 月，在五个电子数据库中检索文章。采用 Stata 16.0 进行荟萃分析。
纳入 23 项干预研究，共 6830 名儿童。1）运动干预组在改善负性情绪方面明显优于对照组（标准化均数差 SMD=-0.25，95%置信区间 CI：-0.34 至 -0.15，P<0.01）。运动干预改善了不同类型的负性情绪：焦虑（SMD=-0.19，95%CI：-0.33 至 -0.06，P<0.01）、抑郁（SMD=-0.22，95%CI：-0.43 至 -0.01，P<0.01）和压力（SMD=-0.33，95%CI：-0.53 至 -0.14，P<0.01）；对问题性压力的缓解最有效。持续 20-45 分钟的运动干预最能有效改善儿童的负性情绪（SMD=-0.38，95%CI：-0.56 至 -0.20，P<0.01）。10 周的运动干预期更能有效改善儿童的负性情绪（SMD=-0.26，95%CI：-0.34 至 -0.17，P=0.274）。
运动干预可能改善儿童的焦虑、抑郁和压力等负性情绪。这些发现可能对有负性情绪的儿童具有临床意义。然而，这些研究显示出较大的异质性，结果应谨慎解释。未来的研究应报告性别、年龄组以及运动的类型、强度和地点对运动干预的可变性。
