High- vs Low-Frequency Exercise for Depression in Adolescents

This research project aims to examine the antidepressant effects of different exercise routines on adolescent depression, which has risen significantly in recent years. Depression, particularly prevalent among adolescents at a global rate of around 12%, is associated with reduced positive emotional responses and difficulties in managing negative emotions. Prior studies indicate that physical activity can boost positive moods, like feelings of excitement and calm, potentially leading to overall mood stabilization with regular exercise. However, results on how exercise influences negative moods remain inconsistent. This study will compare two exercise routines-a single 60-minute weekly session versus four 15-minute weekly sessions of moderate-intensity running-over three weeks to determine which approach has a stronger effect on reducing depressive symptoms in adolescents.

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Key information

Conditions

Depressive Symptoms Behavior Behavioral Symptoms Depression

Age range

18 year–22 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

JeBougePourMonMoral

Reims, 51100, France

About this study

Depression is a mental disorder that affects millions of people globally every year. This mental health issue is particularly prominent in adolescents populations, where depression has been found to increase at a greater rate than in adults over the last decade. In concrete terms, the global current prevalence of depressive disorders (major depressive disorder and dysthymia) is about 7-8% in adults worldwide, whereas it is around 12% among adolescents.

Depression is characterized by a limited capacity to inhibit negative emotions and a dampening of positive affective and emotional reactions.

There is strong evidence that physical activity increases pleasant-activated states like excitement and vigor both immediately following a bout of exercise and more accumulatively, and some studies show that physical activity enhances pleasant-deactivated affective states like calmness or relaxation. Over time, these acute affective responses to physical activity may accumulate to chronically regulate core affect. One logical implication of all this is that shorter but more frequent exercise sessions throughout the week will offer repeated doses of mood improvement, leading to a more stable mood over time, which should predict greater reductions in depressive symptoms.

Previous studies have reported inconsistent and inconclusive findings for the influence of physical activity on unpleasant core affects, and the general pattern in previous research is that physical activity has a more pronounced effect on positive affect than negative affect. Although, recent findings suggest that daily moderate to vigorous physical activity can decrease the level of depressed and angry affects in adolescents.

Therefore, the current randomized controlled study aims to compare the antidepressant effects of a 3-week exercise program with either one weekly 60-minute session or four weekly 15-minute sessions of moderate-intensity running among adolescents (in which findings have been mixed to date).

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

baseline PHQ-9 score > 9 (i.e., "moderate depression")

Exclusion criteria

unability to read and understand French language
specific medical contraindications for physical activity

Treatment and study plan

Physical activity

Behavioral

moderate-intensity running

Primary outcomes

changes in depressive symptoms

Time frame: PHQ-9 completed the day before and the day after the 3-week long exercise program

Depression scores will be obtained using the self-report instrument "Patient Health Questionnaire-9" (PHQ-9). This self-report measure has 9 items that assess depressive symptoms. Items are rated on a 4-point scale ranging from 0 to 3. The final score is obtained by adding the score of each item and can range from 0 to 27 with higher scores indicating greater severity of depressive symptoms. A score of 0-4 indicates no depression, scores 5-9 indicate mild depression, 10-14 indicates moderate depression, 15-19 indicates moderately severe depression, and 20 or above indicates severe depression.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Je Bouge Pour Mon Moral

Other

Registry information

Official study title

Differential Effects of High-frequency Versus Low-frequency Exercise Training in Adolescents With Elevated Depressive Symptoms.

Acronym: HFEDA

Important dates

Study start: 2024
Primary completion: 2024
Study completion: 2024
First posted: Nov 7, 2024
Registry last updated: Nov 7, 2024

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

Published trials that share one or more normalized conditions with this study.

Completed