Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41615879›Full record

SynthesisPsychotherapy and psychosomatics2026

Adherence to Physical Activity Interventions in Major Depressive Disorder: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Vanessa K Tassone, Qiaowei Lin, Gloria Li, Aarna Rao, Victoria Duscio, Tia Mathur, Harani Uthayakumar, Syeda Zauraiz Sohail, Soha Kar, Danika A Quesnel and 5 more

Abstract readSystematic Review
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Psychotherapy and psychosomatics, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing 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

1 citing paper in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
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

15 authors.

Vanessa K TassoneInterventional Psychiatry Program, St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Qiaowei LinInterventional Psychiatry Program, St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Gloria LiInterventional Psychiatry Program, St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Aarna RaoInterventional Psychiatry Program, St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Victoria DuscioInterventional Psychiatry Program, St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Tia MathurInterventional Psychiatry Program, St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Harani UthayakumarInterventional Psychiatry Program, St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Syeda Zauraiz SohailInterventional Psychiatry Program, St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Soha KarInterventional Psychiatry Program, St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Danika A QuesnelInterventional Psychiatry Program, St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Wendy LouDepartment of Biostatistics, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
David WiljerInstitute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Catherine M SabistonFaculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Benoit MulsantInstitute of Medical Science, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Venkat BhatInterventional Psychiatry Program, St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, venkat.bhat@utoronto.ca.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionNon-adherence is a barrier to the effectiveness of physical activity (PA) interventions for major depressive disorder (MDD). This systematic review and meta-analysis identified reported adherence-related outcomes, compared adherence rates of PA and non-PA interventions in MDD, and determined predictors of adherence.

methodsMEDLINE, APA PsycINFO, CINAHL Plus, and SPORTDiscus were searched until September 5, 2024. Pooled estimated risk differences (RDs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated using fixed-effects or random-effects models. Meta-regression explored predictors of adherence.

resultsNinety-seven studies were included in this review, and 91 studies in the meta-analysis. Adherence-related outcomes for analyses included rates of intervention receipt, retention, protocol adherence, and session attendance. Retention was the most commonly reported outcome, with no significant difference between PA and non-PA interventions. Similarly, there were no significant differences in intervention receipt and session attendance. However, PA interventions had significantly lower protocol adherence than non-PA interventions (RD = -0.15; 95% CI: -0.23, -0.08). Severe baseline depressive symptoms, longer intervention durations, and in-person delivery predicted retention rates. Longer PA sessions predicted intervention receipt and supervision of activities predicted attendance rates.

conclusionParticipants with MDD demonstrate lower protocol adherence to PA interventions than to interventions without a PA component. This result was based on a paucity of studies. Rates of intervention receipt, retention, and attendance were comparable in PA and non-PA interventions. Studies could benefit from including individuals with greater depressive symptom severity and supervised activity. With replication, findings could improve the design of, and increase adherence to, PA interventions in MDD.

Indexed as

Depressive disorderExerciseMajorMeta-analysisPhysical activityTreatment adherence and compliance

Identifiers

PMID41615879
PMCPMC13008392

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
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.