Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40504657›Full record

SynthesisExperimental and clinical psychopharmacology2025

The effects of exercise interventions on substance-use outcomes: A meta-analytic and systematic review.

Hannah N Carlson, Mark A Smith, Justin C Strickland

Abstract readSystematic ReviewMeta-Analysis
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Experimental and clinical psychopharmacology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Hannah N CarlsonDepartment of Psychology, Davidson College.ORCID 0000-0001-6953-958X
Mark A SmithDepartment of Psychology, Davidson College.
Justin C StricklandDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

Funding

Social Influences on Drug-Seeking BehaviorR01DA031725 · NIDA · DAVIDSON COLLEGE · PI SMITH, MARK A · 2012 to 2022
$3.1M
Influence of Orexin Antagonism on Opioid and Methamphetamine DemandR01DA055634 · NIDA · UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND BALTIMORE · PI Justin Charles Strickland · 2023 to 2026
$2.6M
The Influence of Gonadal Hormones on Opioid UseR01DA045364 · NIDA · DAVIDSON COLLEGE · PI SMITH, MARK A · 2018 to 2022
$1.6M
National Institute on Drug Abuse; Intramural Research ProgramNIDA NIH HHS R01 DA031725NIDA NIH HHS R01 DA045364NIDA NIH HHS R01 DA055634
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

A number of studies have been conducted to assess the efficacy of exercise-based interventions for substance-use disorders. Nicotine use has been overrepresented in prior meta-analytic and systematic reviews, potentially obscuring the effects of exercise on outcomes related to other drugs. The aim of this meta-analysis and systematic review was to offer an updated account of the impact of exercise on substance-use outcomes for drugs other than nicotine. Eligible studies included peer reviewed articles published before August 2023 describing randomized controlled trials or clinical trials involving adults in which exercise served as the primary treatment intervention and substance use and/or craving outcomes were assessed for drugs other than nicotine. In addition to omnibus effects, meta-regression models were conducted to assess study design (within vs. between), data collection (acute vs. long-term), and outcome measure (drug craving vs. drug use) as potential moderating variables. A total of 19 articles describing 17 unique studies were selected for analysis, including data from 1,363 individual participants. An omnibus robust variance estimation meta-analysis indicated a significant reduction in substance-use outcomes following exercise intervention. The moderator analysis additionally indicated a significant effect of design type such that between-subject designs displayed smaller magnitude reductions than within-subject designs. Other potential moderators were not significant. These findings indicate that a variety of exercise-based interventions produce moderate improvements in substance use and craving for people using nonmedical drugs and corroborate prior reports that exercise is effective as an adjunctive or standalone treatment for substance-use disorder. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

Indexed as

ExerciseExercise TherapySubstance-Related DisordersCravingHumansRandomized Controlled Trials as TopicTreatment Outcome

Identifiers

PMID40504657
PMCPMC12619126

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceTDM
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.