NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Besides its physical health benefits, exercise is often said to help people simply feel good. And a growing number of studies are showing that these mood-boosting effects may even fight clinical depression.

The latest evidence that exercise can be an antidepressant comes from a German study of 12 men and women with major depression. Researchers found that walking for 30 minutes each day quickly improved the patients' symptoms--faster, in fact, than antidepressant drugs typically do, according to a report in the April issue of the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

Dr. Fernando Dimeo and his colleagues at Freie University in Berlin measured the patients' depressive symptoms before and after 10 days of treadmill workouts. The investigators found that by the study's end, 6 of the 12 patients had improved significantly and 2 had improved slightly. Five of these patients had failed to benefit from antidepressant drugs, the authors note.

``Our results indicate that, in selected patients with major depression, aerobic training can produce a substantial improvement in symptoms in a short time,'' the researchers write.

Previous studies have suggested that exercise is a potent mood-booster, and some research indicates that for some patients regular activity may be a better depression treatment than psychotherapy or medication. Exactly why is unclear, but exercise does influence certain mood-related hormones. And it is also believed to enhance people's sense of control over their lives.

In one study that compared exercise with antidepressants among older adults, investigators found that physical activity was the more effective depression-fighter. That study's lead author, Dr. James A. Blumenthal of Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, told Reuters Health that exercise is potentially an important component of depression treatment.

But, he said, ``one treatment may not work for everyone, and it's important to match the right treatment to the right person.''

Blumenthal called the current study findings ``provocative,'' but noted that he and his colleagues have found that it typically takes at least 1 month of regular exercise before patients' moods improve.

Exercise is gaining more research interest as a way to battle depression, according to Blumenthal.

``Depression is so prevalent and can be so debilitating,'' he said, ``that alternative treatments do need to be looked at.'' It is important that such studies have the ``scientific rigor'' to show exercise is a valid treatment option, he added.

SOURCE: British Journal of Sports Medicine 2001;35:114-117.

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