Scientific article
OA Policy
English

Chronic exercise effects on overall depression severity and distinct depressive symptoms in older adults: A protocol of a systematic and meta-analytic review

Published inPloS one, vol. 19, no. 5, p. e0297348
Publication date2024-05-23
First online date2024-05-23
Abstract

Introduction: There is high evidence that chronic exercise benefits overall depression severity in older adults. However, late-life depression is characterized by considerable heterogeneity in clinical manifestation emphasizing the need for more individualized exercise intervention programs. Therefore, the objective of the proposed review is to investigate the effects of chronic exercise on overall depression severity and on different symptoms of depression in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) including older adults with a mean age of at least 60 years, and by considering the moderating effects of intervention characteristics and individual characteristics.

Methods: This protocol is guided by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis Protocols (PRISMA-P). We will use the Population-Intervention-Comparator-Outcomes-Study design (PICOS) criteria for study inclusion and will search the following database sources for relevant RCTs: Web of Science, Academic Search Complete, CINAHL, APA Psycinfo, SPORTDiscuss, Cochrane. Two independent reviewers will conduct the study selection, data extraction, and quality assessment. Disagreement will be solved by a third reviewer. Primary outcome will be changes in overall depression severity and secondary outcomes will encompass changes in symptoms of depression as defined by the DSM-5, such as sleep quality, fatigue, anxiety, mood, apathy, changes in weight, information processing speed, and executive functions, from baseline until the end of the intervention and to any available intermediary measurement or follow up. Meta-analysis will be undertaken to synthesize the effects of chronic exercise on primary and secondary outcomes. Subgroup analysis will investigate the moderating effects of intervention characteristics (frequency, intensity, duration, type of exercise, cognitive demand, social interactions, exercise supervision, behavioral change techniques, compliance, study design, dropout-rate, type of control group) and individual characteristics (age, sex, education, functional capacity, global cognition, population) on primary and secondary outcomes. Additionally, we plan to assess quality of evidence and publication bias, and to carry out sensitivity analysis.

Conclusion: The results of the proposed review are anticipated to have a substantial impact on research and clinical practice. On the one hand, the review’s conclusions could form the foundation for developing evidence-based recommendations for individualized exercise programs that alleviate depression in older adults. On the other hand, by revealing research gaps, the review results could encourage the formulation of research questions for further RCTs.

Protocol registration number: This protocol has been published in the Prospero repository (PROSPERO 2022 CRD42022361418, available from: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?ID=CRD42022361418 )

Keywords
  • Aged
  • Depression* / therapy
  • Exercise Therapy / methods
  • Exercise*
  • Humans
  • Meta-Analysis as Topic*
  • Middle Aged
  • Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic
  • Systematic Reviews as Topic*
Funding
  • European Cooperation in Science and Technology - [EU COST Action CA20104]
Citation (ISO format)
MACK, Melanie et al. Chronic exercise effects on overall depression severity and distinct depressive symptoms in older adults: A protocol of a systematic and meta-analytic review. In: PloS one, 2024, vol. 19, n° 5, p. e0297348. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0297348
Main files (1)
Article (Published version)
Identifiers
Additional URL for this publicationhttps://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0297348
Journal ISSN1932-6203
34views
59downloads

Technical informations

Creation01/07/2024 14:34:16
First validation02/07/2024 08:32:30
Update time02/07/2024 08:32:30
Status update02/07/2024 08:32:30
Last indexation01/11/2024 11:09:54
All rights reserved by Archive ouverte UNIGE and the University of GenevaunigeBlack