SynthesisFrontiers in medicine2026
Effectiveness of different types of exercise therapy in improving post-stroke depression: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Frontiers in medicine, 2026. 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
6 authors.
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Abstract
Objective: To systematically evaluate the effects of exercise therapies such as aerobic exercise (CAE), Tai Chi (TC), Baduanjin (BDJ), resistance training (RE), Wuqinxi (WQX), yoga (YG), and rehabilitation training (RT) on depressive symptoms, daily living abilities, motor function, and balance function in patients with post-stroke depression (PSD). A network meta-analysis method was employed to compare the relative efficacy of various interventions, providing high-quality evidence-based medical data for clinical selection of optimal intervention strategies. Methods: We conducted systematic searches in China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang Data, VIP Information, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science, with the search period concluding on April 5, 2026. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) evaluating exercise therapy interventions for PSD were included. Two investigators independently performed screening, data extraction, and RoB 2.0 bias risk assessment. A network meta-analysis was performed using Stata 17.0 under the frequency framework, with continuous outcomes expressed as mean difference (MD) and 95% confidence interval (CI), and ranked by SUCRA. Results: A total of 33 RCTs ( Conclusion: Exercise therapy can serve as an effective adjunctive intervention in the comprehensive management of PSD, demonstrating potential benefits in alleviating depressive symptoms and improving certain functional outcomes. The efficacy of different exercise modalities varies across outcome dimensions: RT shows superior performance in improving HAMD scores and BI, CAE exhibits greater advantages in enhancing SDS scores, RE ranks highest in promoting FMA improvement, and BDJ demonstrates optimal efficacy in improving BBS scores. Given the overall limited methodological quality of included studies, small sample sizes for some outcomes, relatively sparse evidence networks, and short follow-up durations in most studies, these findings require further validation through high-quality, large-sample, long-term randomized controlled trials. Systematic review registration: CRD420261333356.
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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.