ReviewFrontiers in sports and active living2025
The effects of taekwondo on depression symptoms and cognitive function: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Review in Frontiers in sports and active living, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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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.
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
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Abstract
Background: Depression is among the most prevalent mental disorders globally and is frequently accompanied by impairments in attention, memory, and executive functioning that substantially diminish quality of life and social functioning. Taekwondo has increasingly been recognized as a holistic mind-body discipline that integrates physical training, attentional regulation, and ethical cultivation and may offer benefits for both psychological well-being and cognitive health. However, the existing evidence has not been systematically synthesized. Methods: This systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted in accordance with PRISMA guidelines and synthesized relevant literature published through September 2025. Searches were conducted across major English- and Chinese-language Taekwondodatabases (PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Ovid Medline and CNKI), and 14 randomized controlled trials were ultimately included. Two reviewers independently screened studies, extracted data, and assessed risk of bias using the RoB 2.0 tool, and rated the certainty of evidence using the GRADE approach. Random-effects models were applied to estimate standardized mean difference (SMD) and corresponding 95% CI. Heterogeneity was examined using Cochran's Results: Fourteen randomized controlled trials involving 906 participants were included. Taekwondo training was associated with significant, moderate improvements in depressive symptoms (SMD = -0.54; 95% CI: -0.84 to -0.24; Conclusion: Taekwondo training appears to exert meaningful benefits for both depressive symptoms and cognitive function, supporting its potential as a comprehensive exercise-based intervention with psychological and cognitive health value.
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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.