Meta-Analysis of Exercise Effects on Depression and Anxiety in University Students

15 studies comprising 659 students were analyzed in a systematic review and meta-analysis. The work, authored by Silje Halvorsen Sveaas and last updated in May 2026, found low-certainty evidence for large effects of cardiorespiratory and muscular strength exercise on symptoms of depression and anxiety. The review followed PRISMA guidelines and was registered as PROSPERO CRD42023398623.

Use Cases

• Evaluating the efficacy of exercise interventions for depression based on standardized mean differences reported in the meta-analysis
• Assessing the quality of evidence for exercise on anxiety using the GRADE approach described in the review
• Identifying gaps in research on exercise for mental health challenges among higher education students

Strengths

• Analysis is based on 15 included trials (11 RCTs and 4 quasi-experimental studies) involving 659 students
• Effect sizes are quantified with standardized mean differences and 95% confidence intervals for depression and anxiety
• The review methodology is explicitly documented, including PRISMA guidelines and a PROSPERO registration

Limitations

• The dataset is a 32.7 KB DOCX document, which is a very small text file containing summary results rather than raw trial data
• Row count and column-level documentation for any underlying data are absent; the file presents aggregated findings
• Freshness should be verified as the last update date is in the future (2026-05-29), which may indicate a placeholder or planned update

Provenance

Source

figshare, author Silje Halvorsen Sveaas

Collection Method

Systematic review and meta-analysis of studies from six databases (Embase, Ovid MEDLINE, APA PsycInfo, CINAHL, SPORTDiscus, Scopus) up to April 2025.

Time Range

Literature search conducted up to 8 April 2025.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-05-29 06:13:34