Sun B, Li C, Zhang CL, Li JH, Mao M, Wang G, Zhang ZF. Meta-analysis of the effects of multimodal physical therapy on improving depression. World J Psychiatry 2025; 15(5): 103937 [DOI: 10.5498/wjp.v15.i5.103937]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Zong-Feng Zhang, MD, Chief Physician, Department of Psychiatry, Affiliated Kangning Hospital of Ningbo University, Ningbo Kangning Hospital, No. 1 Zhuangyu South Road, Zhuangshi Street, Zhenhai District, Ningbo 315201, Zhejiang Province, China. zzf19900713@163.com
Research Domain of This Article
Psychiatry
Article-Type of This Article
Meta-Analysis
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Psychiatry. May 19, 2025; 15(5): 103937 Published online May 19, 2025. doi: 10.5498/wjp.v15.i5.103937
Meta-analysis of the effects of multimodal physical therapy on improving depression
Bin Sun, Chao Li, Chen-Lin Zhang, Jing-Hui Li, Ming Mao, Gang Wang, Zong-Feng Zhang
Bin Sun, Chao Li, Chen-Lin Zhang, Jing-Hui Li, Ming Mao, Gang Wang, Department of Psychiatry, Ningbo Psychiatric Hospital, Ningbo 315000, Zhejiang Province, China
Zong-Feng Zhang, Department of Psychiatry, Affiliated Kangning Hospital of Ningbo University, Ningbo Kangning Hospital, Ningbo 315201, Zhejiang Province, China
Co-first authors: Bin Sun and Chao Li.
Author contributions: Sun B and Li C contributed equally to this manuscript as co-first authors. Sun B and Li C participated in data acquisition; Sun B, Li C, Zhang CL, Mao M, Wang G, and Zhang ZF participated in the design of this study and making critical revisions; Sun B, Li C, Zhang CL, Mao M, and Wang G contributed to the interpretation of the collected data, data analysis, and drafted the manuscript; and all authors approved the final version.
Supported by Pharmaceutical Science and Technology Project in Zhejiang Province, No. 2023RC266; and Natural Science Foundation of Ningbo, No. 202003N4266.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
PRISMA 2009 Checklist statement: The authors have read the PRISMA 2009 Checklist, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the PRISMA 2009 Checklist.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Zong-Feng Zhang, MD, Chief Physician, Department of Psychiatry, Affiliated Kangning Hospital of Ningbo University, Ningbo Kangning Hospital, No. 1 Zhuangyu South Road, Zhuangshi Street, Zhenhai District, Ningbo 315201, Zhejiang Province, China. zzf19900713@163.com
Received: December 20, 2024 Revised: February 5, 2025 Accepted: March 21, 2025 Published online: May 19, 2025 Processing time: 131 Days and 1.3 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Depression is a widespread psychological disorder that has substantial effects on public health and society. Conventional therapies include medication and psychotherapy, recent investigations have highlighted the possible advantages of multimodal treatments, such as physical therapy, for improving depression.
AIM
To perform a meta-analysis of how multimodal physical therapy can help treat depression.
METHODS
We searched for collection of articles that satisfied the inclusion and exclusion criteria, encompassing randomized controlled research-related sources. We incorporated these studies into the meta-analysis using terms such as “findings”, “intervention”, and “population attributes”. We used statistical examination to measure the total impact magnitude and evaluate study variability.
RESULTS
The encouraging aspect is that multi-modal physical therapy is being considered for its effectiveness in treating symptoms related to depression. Sensitivity analysis was conducted to identify key factors and determine their impact on quality.
CONCLUSION
Regarding treatment for depression, this meta-analysis extends the increasing number of studies demonstrating the effectiveness of multimodal physical therapy.
Core Tip: This meta-analysis confirms the effectiveness of multimodal physical therapy in alleviating depressive symptoms. Multimodal physical therapy, which combines exercise with various complementary treatments, is believed to effectively reduce depressive symptoms by enhancing both physical health and psychological well-being. By combining various therapeutic approaches, it demonstrates significant potential benefits; however, sensitivity analyses highlight the necessity for additional high-quality research to strengthen the evidence.
