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Document Type

Abstract

Publication Date

12-1-2024

Abstract

Background/Purpose: The role of exercise interventions in the treatment of psychiatric disorders is receiving increased attention, and the positive protective effect of aerobic exercise on anxiety symptoms has now been extensively demonstrated. This study aimed to investigate the systematic evaluation of the effects of different aerobic exercise interventions on anxiety symptoms in college students.

Method: Using keywords such as “physical activity,” “anxiety,” and “college students” screened Randomized controlled trials (RCT) published until February 2024 in three databases: PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus. A total of 5073 studies were retrieved after systematically searching individual databases. After removing duplicate literature, 4112 studies remained. Following the screening of titles and abstracts, 72 studies were read in their entirety for refinement. We used the PICOS principle to define the inclusion criteria for the articles. The analysis was performed using RevMan 5.4 and Stata 16.0 software.

Results: A total of 6 RCTs comprising 253 college student participants (exercise n=125; control n=128) were included. The analysis revealed that aerobic exercise had a statistically significant reduction in anxiety symptoms compared to the control group in anxious college students (standardized mean difference=-0.79, 95% CI (-1.10, -0.47); I²=31%). Mind-body exercise had the most significant effect on anxiety symptoms, followed by conventional aerobic exercise, and multicomponent aerobic exercise. Furthermore, experiments of less than 8 weeks and more than 8 weeks showed significant improvement in anxiety symptoms (SMD=-0.74, 95% CI (-1.13, -0.35), P < 0.01; SMD=-0.81, 95% CI (-1.45, -0.17), P = 0.01). Additionally, ≤60 min of exercise had a significant effect (SMD=-0.59, 95% CI (-0.99, -0.20), P < 0.01), and ≥60 min of exercise was more effective (SMD=-0.94, 95% CI (-1.40, -0.47), P < 0.01). The study also found a significant improvement in anxiety among low exercise intensity, moderate exercise intensity, and high exercise intensity (SMD=-0.69, 95% CI (-1.13, -0.24), P < 0.01); SMD=-0.91, 95% CI (-1.58, -0.25), P < 0.01; SMD=-0.41, 95% CI (-0.91, -0.08), P = 0.1).

Conclusion/Discussion: Exercise significantly improved anxiety symptoms in college students, with multicomponent aerobic exercise having the most significant effect. A moderate-intensity exercise program lasting more than 60 minutes, over 8 weeks, had a greater impact on college students. Future research is still needed to explore the factors that modulate the effects of exercise interventions.

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