SynthesisBMJ open2025
Effect of exercise on mental health and alcohol consumption in individuals with alcohol use disorder: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in BMJ open, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
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
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- Aerobic exercise for substance use disorders: therapeutic effects and underlying mechanisms.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesTo systematically evaluate the effect of exercise interventions on mental health outcomes (encompassing anxiety, depression and stress) and alcohol consumption (encompassing daily or weekly standardised alcohol consumption) in individuals with alcohol use disorder (AUD).
designWe performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of eligible randomised controlled trials (RCTs). DATA SOURCES: Web of Science, PubMed and the Cochrane Library were searched from database inception to February 2025 using both manual and software-assisted methods (NoteExpress). ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: RCTs examining the effects of exercise interventions on individuals diagnosed with AUD were included. Studies were required to report outcomes related to mental health (anxiety, depression and stress) and/or alcohol consumption. Studies without a control group or a before-after intervention design lacking a comparison were excluded. Language was restricted to English. DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS: Two researchers independently extracted data. A random-effects model was used to synthesise results, reported as standardised mean differences (SMDs) with 95% CIs. Risk of bias, heterogeneity (I²) and publication bias were assessed using Stata version 14. Sensitivity and subgroup analyses were conducted to evaluate robustness and explore sources of heterogeneity.
resultsA total of 15 studies met the inclusion criteria and were included in this systematic review and meta-analysis. Exercise interventions significantly improved mental health outcomes in individuals with AUD, reducing self-reported symptoms of anxiety (SMD -0.53, 95% CI -0.87 to -0.18, p=0.003), depression (SMD -0.84, 95% CI -1.20 to -0.48, p<0.001) and stress (SMD -1.14, 95% CI -1.91 to -0.3, p=0.004). However, no significant reductions were observed in daily or weekly alcohol consumption, although a non-significant decreasing trend was noted, particularly in European populations. Heterogeneity was moderate to high across anxiety (I² = 64.5%), depression (I² = 75.6%), stress (I² = 81.8%) and daily alcohol use (I² = 55.8%). Subgroup analyses revealed that short-term interventions (<14 weeks) were more effective for anxiety and depression. Yoga demonstrated superior effects on depression compared with aerobic exercise, particularly when session durations were <60 min.
conclusionsExercise-based interventions are effective in improving mental health in individuals with AUD, particularly in alleviating anxiety, depression and stress. Although effects on alcohol consumption were not statistically significant, consistent trends suggest potential benefits, influenced by geography, intervention duration and exercise modality. Tailored exercise programmes may enhance AUD treatment outcomes. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD420251122437.
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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.