2015 Volume 12 Pages 39-45
There are many reports that exercise intervention for depressive patients improves physical and psychological measures ; however, a consensus has not yet been reached with regard to feasible programs in exercise facilities in Japan. Therefore, we developed a safe exercise program for patients with mental health problems and verified its effectiveness.
Participants consisted of 28 patients (19 male and 9 female, mean age of 39.6±10.7 years) with a diagnosis of depression or in a depressive state ; each had been recommended to exercise by his/her attending physician. The exercise program developed in our facility included aerobic exercise and resistance training using the step-up method, and was intended to be conducted three times a week for three months. Only one patient dropped out of the program.
The mean exercise intensity of 27 patients was 3.6±1.3 METs (metabolic equivalents)-hours each session (frequency : 1.7±1.0 times per week). After the intervention, significant improvements were observed in participants’ scores on the Japan version of the Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS) and alanine aminotransferase levels (blood test). For SDS, improvement was particularly significant in patients who exercised twice a week or more, or 4 METs-hours per week or more. Comments from patients included, “I became aware of change in my physical condition.”
These findings suggest that regular exercise and the step-up method using exercise improves physical and mental health.
