IMPROVEMENTS IN PSYCHOSOCIAL FUNCTIONING AND HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE FOLLOWING EXERCISE AUGMENTATION IN PATIENTS WITH TREATMENT RESPONSE BUT NONREMITTED MAJOR DEPRESSIVE DISORDER: RESULTS FROM THE TREAD STUDY.
Level 2 - randomized trial
Individual randomized controlled trial
PubMed 27164293 · doi:10.1002/da.22521
What was done
122 partial responders to antidepressant medication with nonremitted major depressive disorder were randomized to either high-dose (16 kcal/kg/week) or low-dose (4 kcal/kg/week) exercise for 12 weeks, combining supervised and home-based sessions. Psychosocial functioning and quality of life were measured at weeks 6 and 12 using the Short-Form Health Survey, Work and Social Adjustment Scale, Social Adjustment Scale, Quality of Life Enjoyment and Satisfaction Questionnaire, and Satisfaction with Life Scale. Changes were analyzed in participants with at least one follow-up point (n = 106) using linear mixed models controlling for baseline depressive symptomatology and other covariates.
What was found
Participants showed significant improvements in psychosocial functioning and quality of life across all measured domains, generally reaching healthy ranges at weeks 6 and 12. No statistically significant differences were observed between the high-dose and low-dose exercise groups. The abstract did not report exact numerical scores, effect sizes, or p-values.
Why it matters
Residual functional impairment frequently persists after antidepressant therapy; these findings suggest that adding exercise—even at low doses—may help restore psychosocial functioning and quality of life in patients who achieve only partial antidepressant response.
Limits
The study lacked an inactive or treatment-as-usual control group without exercise, leaving open the possibility that improvements were due to natural recovery, time, or ongoing pharmacotherapy. Outcome data were missing for 16 of the 122 randomized participants (13% attrition), and numerical effect sizes and confidence intervals were not provided in the abstract.
Cited by
- supports Exercise has been shown across multiple studies to improve depressive symptoms in clinical and treatment-resistant major depressive disorder.