Effects of Exercise on Symptoms of Anxiety, Cognitive Ability and Sick Leave in Patients with Anxiety Disorders in Primary Care: Study Protocol for PHYSBI, a Randomized Controlled Trial

Overview

Journal BMC Psychiatry

Publisher Biomed Central

Specialty Psychiatry

Date 2019 Jun 12

PMID 31182054

Citations 2

Authors

Jenny Nyberg

Malin Henriksson

N David Aberg

Alexander Wall

Robert Eggertsen

Maria Westerlund

Louise Danielsson

H Georg Kuhn

Margda Waern

Maria Aberg

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Background: Anxiety disorders are common and associated with reduced quality of life, impaired physical and mental health and an increased economic burden for society. While evidence exists for the effectiveness of exercise treatment for depression, there is a need for high-quality randomized clinical trials (RCT) with a focus on anxiety disorders. Further research is also warranted regarding outcomes of cognitive function, other health-related variables, dose-response effects, work ability and potential mechanisms.

Method/design: Using a parallel, RCT design with three assessment points (baseline, post-intervention and one-year follow-up), we aim to assess the effect of a 12-week exercise intervention in primary care patients with anxiety disorders (n = 180), diagnosed using the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (M.I.N.I; Swedish version 6.0.0d DSM-IV). Participants are randomly assigned to three physical exercise groups: one low-intensity training group, one moderate- to high intensity training group and one control non-exercise group. Assessments include measures of anxiety symptoms, cognitive function, physical health variables such as cardiovascular fitness, sick-leave and levels of hormones/cytokines in blood samples.

Discussion: Findings from this study will provide novel insights regarding the effects of exercise treatment on not only anxiety symptoms but also other outcomes including mental and physical health, cognitive function, dose-response effects, work ability/sick leave and on biomarkers that may help explain underlying mechanisms.

Trial Registration: The trial was registered at ClinicalTrial.gov NCT03247270 August 8, 2017.

Citing Articles

Anxiety severity and cognitive function in primary care patients with anxiety disorder: a cross-sectional study.

Nyberg J, Henriksson M, Wall A, Vestberg T, Westerlund M, Walser M BMC Psychiatry. 2021; 21(1):617.

PMID: 34886841 PMC: 8662874. DOI: 10.1186/s12888-021-03618-z.

Physical Activity Is Associated With Lower Long-Term Incidence of Anxiety in a Population-Based, Large-Scale Study.

Svensson M, Brundin L, Erhardt S, Hallmarker U, James S, Deierborg T Front Psychiatry. 2021; 12:714014.

PMID: 34566716 PMC: 8460768. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2021.714014.

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