SynthesisHealth promotion international2024
Effectiveness of physical activity interventions on undergraduate students' mental health: systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Health promotion international, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 39 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
39 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- A systematic review and meta-analysis of high-intensity interval training for mental health and executive function in university students.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Pooled it
- Comparative effects of exercise modalities on depression, anxiety, and stress in university students: a systematic review and network meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Frontiers in public health · 2026Pooled it
- Effectiveness of Baduanjin exercise for improving the mental health of university students: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Pooled it
- The intervention effect of long-term exercise on depression and anxiety in college students: a three-level meta-analysis.BMC psychology · 2025Pooled it
- Optimal intensity and dose of exercise to improve university students' mental health: a systematic review and network meta-analysis of 48 randomized controlled trials.European journal of applied physiology · 2025Pooled it
- Effectiveness of physical exercise on mental health among university students: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Pooled it
- Examining the Social and Mental Health Benefits of Virtual and In-Person Physical Activity Intervention Among Postsecondary Students: Quasi-Experimental Study.JMIR mental health · 2026Trial
- Trial
- HRV-based workplace consultation for managers: a randomized controlled trial on enhancing biopsychosocial awareness and reducing perceived stress.Frontiers in public health · 2025Trial
- Contextualizing AI-Supported Emotion Regulation Through Sport and Exercise in Higher Education: A Conceptual Reframing.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- The Relationship Between Physical Activity, Emotional Regulation, Psychological Stress, and Mood Among College Students: A Network Analysis Study.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Physical Activity and Mental Well-Being Among University Students: The Role of Beliefs in the Mental Health Benefits of Physical Activity.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Article
- Development and validation of a scale of healthy psychological effects of physical exercise among Chinese college students from a multidimensional mental health perspective.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Effects of a multicomponent exercise program on the gross and fine motor skills of healthy, sporting inactive older adults aged 60.Frontiers in aging · 2026Article
- Physical activity, mental-health symptoms, sleep quality, and health-related quality of life among physical education teacher education students: a cross-sectional study.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Changes in physical fitness and life skills among undergraduate students participating in a university physical education course.Frontiers in sports and active living · 2026Article
- Association between physical activity and depression in university students: a systematic review and meta-analysis with public health implications.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Review
- Latent profiles of problematic internet use and their associations with physical activity levels among college students: a cross-sectional study.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- The effect of a 10-week swimming exercise program on emotional state in female sport sciences students.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
Abstract
This systematic review and meta-analysis assessed the effectiveness of physical activity interventions on undergraduate students' mental health. Seven databases were searched and a total of 59 studies were included. Studies with a comparable control group were meta-analysed, and remaining studies were narratively synthesized. The included studies scored very low GRADE and had a high risk of bias. Meta-analyses indicated physical activity interventions are effective in reducing symptoms of anxiety (n = 20, standardized mean difference (SMD) = -0.88, 95% CI [-1.23, -0.52]), depression (n = 14, SMD = -0.73, 95% CI [-1.00, -0.47]) and stress (n = 10, SMD = -0.61, 95% CI [-0.94, -0.28]); however, there was considerable heterogeneity (anxiety, I2 = 90.29%; depression I2 = 49.66%; stress I2 = 86.97%). The narrative synthesis had mixed findings. Only five studies reported being informed by a behavioural change theory and only 30 reported intervention fidelity. Our review provides evidence supporting the potential of physical activity interventions in enhancing the mental health of undergraduate students. More robust intervention design and implementation are required to better understand the effectiveness of PA interventions on mental health outcomes.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.