Mental Health and Mental Illness: Interventions to Reduce Depression Among Older Adults – Community-Based Exercise Interventions

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Snapshot

Summary of CPSTF Finding

The Community Preventive Services Task Force (CPSTF) finds insufficient evidence to determine the effectiveness of exercise interventions for reducing depression in older adults. Although the studies reviewed generally found that exercise interventions were associated with improved scores on depression symptom scales, none of the studies reviewed reported results for depressed subjects, so it is unclear whether clinically significant changes can be expected in these populations.

The CPSTF has related findings for the following interventions to reduce depression among older adults:

Home-based depression care management (recommended)
Clinic-based depression care management (recommended)

Intervention

The community-based exercise interventions assessed in this review provide individual or group exercise classes for older adults. These classes may focus on:

Strengthening
Endurance
Functional training

An older adult is defined as 60 years of age or older, and depression outcomes include changes in depression scale scores.

CPSTF Finding and Rationale Statement

Read the Task Force finding pdf icon [PDF – 134 KB].

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What the CPSTF Found

About The Systematic Review

The CPSTF finding is based on evidence from a systematic review of 9 studies (search period 1967 - October 2005). The review was conducted on behalf of the CPSTF by a team of specialists in systematic review methods, and experts in research, practice, and policy from the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington School of Medicine.

Summary of Results

Nine studies qualified for the review

Four studies reviewed found that exercise interventions were associated with improved scores on depression symptom scales for intervention group participants compared to participants in control conditions.
None of the studies reported results for depressed subjects, so the clinical significance of these improvements could not be determined.

Summary of Economic Evidence

An economic review of this intervention was not conducted because CPSTF did not have enough information to determine if the intervention works.

Applicability

Applicability of this intervention across different settings and populations was not assessed because CPSTF did not have enough information to determine if the intervention works.