Linderung depressiver Symptomatik

Standard interventions, such as antidepressive medication or psychotherapy, show only medium effect sizes in the reduction of depressive symptomatology. In addition, medication has problematic and not well accepted side-effects therefore it seems reasonable to look for alternative, cost-effective, easily available treatments which show no side-effects. A large number of studies have demonstrated similar neurophysiological effects of sport as antidepressants or psychotherapies but the crucial question remains unanswered: does sport show antidepressive effects by alleviating depressive symptomatology? Some randomized, controlled studies and all available recent meta-analysis addressing this question are reviewed. This review concludes that randomized control trials including sport activities have similar positive effect sizes as psychotherapy or antidepressant studies. The pre-post effects are in the medium to high range. Such a conclusion is jeopardized by a limited number of methodolically sound studies. It is too early to make evidence-based recommendations about the antidepressive effect of sport. Currently, it can only be speculated about moderators and mechanisms mediating outcome.