Research Plus

Exercise training to treat anxiety

A systematic review found ‘solid evidence to recommend exercise training to patients as a means for reducing anxiety symptoms with minimal risk of adverse events’. It included 40 papers published from 1995 to 2007. Exercise training significantly reduced anxiety scores among patients with chronic illness, and sessions lasting longer than 30 minutes had a greater impact than sessions of shorter duration. Programmes lasting three to 12 weeks produced significantly larger effects than those lasting more than 12 weeks – the authors suggest this may be due to better adherence to the training in the shorter programmes.

Archives of Internal Medicine 2010; 170(4): 321–331. http://archinte.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=774421

Tags anxiety evidence based practice

Occupational Health at Work April/May 2010 (vol. 06/6) pp49