Effects of exercise on cognitive function in patients with depression: a three-level meta-analysis with dose-response and exploratory mediation analyses
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Cognitive impairment is common among individuals with depression and contributes to functional impairment and poor treatment outcomes. Exercise, as a non-pharmacological intervention, has been increasingly recognized as a promising approach for improving cognitive function. However, the dose-response relationship underlying these effects remains poorly understood, and the mechanisms through which exercise may influence cognition or depressive symptoms have yet to be clarified. To address these gaps, this study used a three-level meta-analysis to quantify the effects of exercise on cognitive function in depression, examine potential moderators and dose-response patterns, and conduct an exploratory mediation analysis testing whether cognitive changes mediate exercise-related improvements in depressive symptoms. METHODS: We searched China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang Data, Web of Science, Embase, the Cochrane Library, and PubMed for experimental studies evaluating the effects of exercise interventions on cognitive function in patients with depression, from database inception to May 30, 2025. Risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias 2 (RoB 2) tool, and certainty of evidence was graded with GRADEpro. Three-level meta-analyses were conducted with the metafor package in R. RESULTS: Thirty-one studies, including 2,324 participants with depression, were included. Exercise type included aerobic, resistance/strength training, mind-body…
How strong is the evidence?
Evidence Hub reads this as a meta-analysis, done in people. Its evidence level is 1 of 5 (Highest · pooled evidence). Pooled evidence from several studies sits at the top of the evidence pyramid. Reported size: 2,324 participants or records.
Read the paper
Related studies
- Regulation of nucleolus assembly by non-coding RNA polymerase II transcripts
- For a Healthy Histone Code, a Little SUMO in the Tail Keeps the Acetyl Away
- Discovering a binary CTCF code with a little help from BORIS
- Article Commentary: Stabilizing the Code–-Methods to Preserve RNA Prove Their Worth
- Foreword to the Special Issue for the RINTC (The Implicit Seismic Risk of Code-Conforming Structures) Project
- Commentary: Promoting Health and Well-being in Pediatric Primary Care Settings: Using Health and Behavior Codes at Routine Well-child Visits
Go deeper in Evidence Hub
Evidence Hub adds a study data sheet (design, sample size, evidence level, key numbers), an AI summary and a chat grounded in the paper's text.