THE PREVENTIVE POWER OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY ON DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY: A NARRATIVE REVIEW

Background:Effective treatments for depression and anxiety include psychology and medications. It is proposed that one of the tools of self-care is physical activity (PA), which is an adjuvant treatment that may play a crucial role in managing depression and anxiety, in addition to promoting a better quality of life (QoL).Through this narrative review, we aim to summarize the latest available evidence and guide our healthcare colleagues to help anyone suffering from depression and anxiety.

Summary:PubMed and Cochrane databases were systematically searched for relevantstudies published between January 2018 and June 2023 with no language restriction. Systematic reviews were included in the search. We performed the study selection in 3 stages: initially, we did screening by conducting an electronic search. Article titles and their abstracts were then screened. In the second screening stage, we assessed the full texts. In the last stage, we included studies that met our eligibility criteria.

Key Messages:Based on most studies examined, we could conclude that there is an apparent positive effect on depression and anxiety in all adult age groups, nevertheless, in many physical, mental, and psychological conditions.We encourage all our colleagues in preventive medicine, family medicine, and other specialties to prescribe PA as an adjuvant therapy to prevent or treat patients suffering from depression and anxiety. In addition, we recommend that public health and community medicine professionals advocate for PA and draw and implement strategies to motivate people to include PA as a lifestyle. There are still gaps in this field, and we recommend further research and trials to add more to healthcare and science.