ReviewAmerican journal of translational research2025
The effects of aerobic exercise on cognitive function and depressive symptom in patients with depression: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
Review in American journal of translational research, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
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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
0 citing papers in PubMed.
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Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveThis study sought to comprehensively assess the impact of aerobic exercise on cognitive performance and depressive symptoms in individuals diagnosed with depression, in order to provide a more comprehensive evidence base for the clinic.
methodsPubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, CNKI, Wanfang Data, and SinoMed were searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published up to June 2025. Eligible studies included clinically diagnosed patients with depression receiving aerobic exercise as the intervention. Meta-analyses were conducted using RevMan 5.4. Standardized mean differences (SMD) were pooled as effect sizes. Heterogeneity was assessed using the I
resultsA total of 17 RCTs were included. According to the results of the meta-analysis, aerobic exercise was associated with marked enhancements in working memory (Digit Span Backward, SMD = 0.16, P = 0.05) and executive function (Trail Making Test-B, SMD = -0.29, P = 0.03) in patients with depression. Notably, as comprehensive cognitive assessment tools, the Montreal Cognitive Assessment and the Mini-Mental State Examination demonstrated significant effects of aerobic exercise (SMD = 1.68, P = 0.0003). Regarding depressive symptoms, significant improvement was found with the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (SMD = -0.87, P = 0.04). Additionally, four studies reported unique single-scale outcomes suggesting potential trends toward improvement in both cognitive and emotional domains.
conclusionEngagement in aerobic exercise appears to support improvements in executive function and working memory among patients with depression, though its impact on other cognitive domains and mood-related outcomes remains inconclusive. These findings should be interpreted with caution.
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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.