Meta-Analysis of the Effectiveness of Exercise Therapy on Depression Improvement in College Students

Abstract

To systematically evaluate the impact of exercise intervention on depression levels among Chinese college students and provide a reasonable exercise plan to alleviate their depression. A computer search was conducted using the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) and Wanfang databases with the keywords, like “ exercise,” “ depression,” and “ college students.” All relevant literature was searched, and two researchers independently screened the literature, extracted data, and evaluated the quality of the studies according to inclusion and exclusion criteria. Meta-analysis was then performed using Review Manager 5.3 software. A total of 15 articles comprising 18 experiments involving 1006 college students with depression were included. The results indicated that exercise intervention could reduce depression levels among college students, though heterogeneity was significant (I2=89.6%). Further subgroup analysis revealed that low, medium, and high-intensity interventions significantly improved depression levels.