Are lower levels of cardiorespiratory fitness associated with incident depression? A systematic review of prospective cohort studies
Abstract
Physical activity (PA) is protective from future depression, however, the potential impact of cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) on the development of depression is less clear. We aimed to investigate if lower levels of CRF are associated with a higher risk for depression onset. Major electronic databases were searched, from inception to January 2016 for prospective cohort studies evaluating the association between CRF and incident depression. Pooled hazard ratio (HR) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated. Methodological quality was evaluated using the Newcastle-Ottawa scale (NOS). Three prospective studies were identified and data from two studies were pooled. Our data provide preliminary evidence found that people with low CRF and medium CRF were at increased risk of developing depression (n=1,128,290, HR=1.76, 95% CI 1.61-1.91, p<0.001, I 2=11.88, and HR=1.23, 95% CI 1.20-1.38, p<0.001, I 2=0, respectively). Considered alongside the wider benefits of higher levels of CRF, these findings further support the rationale for interventions specifically targeting fitness, in order to reduce the significant burden associated with depression.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
Cardiorespiratory fitness reduces risk of psychiatric disorders.
“with growing evidence of cardiorespiratory fitness itself reducing risk of psychiatric disorders 85-87”
From A meta-review of "lifestyle psychiatry": the role of exercise, smoking, diet and sleep in the prevention and treatment of mental disorders (2020) · cites this paper as [86]
Cites
Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses: the PRISMA statement
Moher, D., Liberati, A., Tetzlaff, J., Altman, D. G., & for the PRISMA Group (2009) · BMJ · doi:10.1136/bmj.b2535 · Cited by 83,823 · see citing works
Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses: The PRISMA Statement
Moher, D., Liberati, A., Tetzlaff, J., Altman, D. G., & The PRISMA Group (2009) · PLoS Medicine · doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1000097 · Cited by 64,042 · see citing works
Measuring inconsistency in meta-analyses
Higgins, J. P. T., Thompson, S. G., Deeks, J. J., & Altman, D. G. (2003) · BMJ · doi:10.1136/bmj.327.7414.557 · Cited by 63,139 · see citing works
Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses: the PRISMA Statement.
(2009) · PubMed Central · Cited by 44,859 · see citing works
Stroup, D. F. (2000) · JAMA · doi:10.1001/jama.283.15.2008 · Cited by 20,623 · see citing works
(2014) · Medical Entomology and Zoology · Cited by 17,633 · see citing works
A default mode of brain function
Raichle, M. E., MacLeod, A. M., Snyder, A. Z., Powers, W. J., Gusnard, D. A., & Shulman, G. L. (2001) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.98.2.676 · Cited by 12,190 · see citing works
Kessler, R. C., Berglund, P., Demler, O., Jin, R., Koretz, D., Merikangas, K. R., Rush, A. J., Walters, E. E., & Wang, P. S. (2003) · JAMA · doi:10.1001/jama.289.23.3095 · Cited by 7,988 · see citing works
Merikangas, K. R., He, J.-P., Burstein, M., Swanson, S. A., Avenevoli, S., Cui, L., Benjet, C., Georgiades, K., & Swendsen, J. (2010) · Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.jaac.2010.05.017 · Cited by 6,278 · see citing works
Ferrari, A. J., Charlson, F. J., Norman, R. E., Patten, S. B., Freedman, G., Murray, C. J. L., Vos, T., & Whiteford, H. A. (2013) · PLoS Medicine · doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1001547 · Cited by 3,115 · see citing works
Physical Activity and the Prevention of Depression
Mammen, G., & Faulkner, G. (2013) · American Journal of Preventive Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.amepre.2013.08.001 · Cited by 1,122 · see citing works
Prevalence and predictors of depression in populations of elderly: a review
Djernes, J. K. (2006) · Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica · doi:10.1111/j.1600-0447.2006.00770.x · Cited by 1,122 · see citing works
Is physical activity or physical fitness more important in defining health benefits?
Blair, S. N., Cheng, Y. J., & HOLDER, J. S. (2001) · Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise · doi:10.1097/00005768-200106001-00007 · Cited by 1,113 · see citing works
Andrade, L., Caraveo‐anduaga, J. J., Berglund, P., Bijl, R. V., Graaf, R. D., Vollebergh, W., Dragomirecka, E., Kohn, R., Keller, M., Kessler, R. C., et al. (2003) · International Journal of Methods in Psychiatric Research · doi:10.1002/mpr.138 · Cited by 1,068 · see citing works
Bridging animal and human models of exercise-induced brain plasticity
Voss, M. W., Vivar, C., Kramer, A. F., & van Praag, H. (2013) · Trends in Cognitive Sciences · doi:10.1016/j.tics.2013.08.001 · Cited by 1,030 · see citing works
Malhi, G. S., Bassett, D., Boyce, P., Bryant, R., Fitzgerald, P. B., Fritz, K., Hopwood, M., Lyndon, B., Mulder, R., Murray, G., et al. (2015) · Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1177/0004867415617657 · Cited by 842 · see citing works
Physical fitness and activity as separate heart disease risk factors: a meta-analysis
WILLIAMS, P. T. (2001) · Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise · doi:10.1097/00005768-200105000-00012 · Cited by 724 · see citing works
Physical activity and likelihood of depression in adults: a review
Teychenne, M., Ball, K., & Salmon, J. (2008) · Preventive Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.ypmed.2008.01.009 · Cited by 677 · see citing works
Pedersen, C. B., Mors, O. N., Bertelsen, A., Waltoft, B. L., Agerbo, E., McGrath, J. J., Mortensen, P. B., & Eaton, W. W. (2014) · JAMA Psychiatry · doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2014.16 · Cited by 623 · see citing works
Lee, D.-C., Sui, X., Artero, E. G., Lee, I.-M., Church, T. S., McAuley, P. A., Stanford, F. C., Kohl, H. W., & Blair, S. N. (2011) · Circulation · doi:10.1161/circulationaha.111.038422 · Cited by 572 · see citing works
Self-citationFitness versus physical activity patterns in predicting mortality in men
Myers, J., Kaykha, A., George, S., Abella, J., Zaheer, N., Lear, S., Yamazaki, T., & Froelicher, V. (2004) · The American Journal of Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.amjmed.2004.06.047 · Cited by 521 · see citing works
The Sequenced Treatment Alternatives to Relieve Depression (STAR*D) Trial: A Review
Sinyor, M., Schaffer, A., & Levitt, A. (2010) · The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1177/070674371005500303 · Cited by 396 · see citing works
Preventing Depression: A Global Priority
Cuijpers, P., Beekman, A. T. F., & Reynolds, C. F. (2012) · JAMA · doi:10.1001/jama.2012.271 · Cited by 368 · see citing works
Cairns, K. E., Yap, M. B. H., Pilkington, P. D., & Jorm, A. F. (2014) · Journal of Affective Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.jad.2014.08.006 · Cited by 363 · see citing works
Neurobiological effects of exercise on major depressive disorder: A systematic review
Schuch, F. B., Deslandes, A. C., Stubbs, B., Gosmann, N. P., Silva, C. T. B. D., & Fleck, M. P. D. A. (2016) · Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2015.11.012 · Cited by 279 · see citing works
Self-citationCardiorespiratory fitness in severe mental illness: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Vancampfort, D., Rosenbaum, S., Schuch, F., Ward, P. B., Richards, J., Mugisha, J., Probst, M., & Stubbs, B. (2017) · Sports Medicine · doi:10.1007/s40279-016-0574-1 · Cited by 224 · see citing works
Self-citationVoss, M. W., Weng, T. B., Burzynska, A. Z., Wong, C. N., Cooke, G. E., Clark, R., Fanning, J. T., Salerno, E. A., Gothe, N. P., Olson, E. A., et al. (2015) · NeuroImage · doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2015.10.044 · Cited by 218 · see citing works
Cerebrovascular reserve: the link between fitness and cognitive function?
Davenport, M. H., Hogan, D. B., Eskes, G. A., Longman, R. S., & Poulin, M. J. (2012) · Exercise and Sport Sciences Reviews · doi:10.1097/jes.0b013e3182553430 · Cited by 196 · see citing works
Dietary patterns and the risk of depression in adults: a systematic review of observational studies
Rahe, C., Unrath, M., & Berger, K. (2014) · European Journal of Nutrition · doi:10.1007/s00394-014-0652-9 · Cited by 192 · see citing works
Stubbs, B., Rosenbaum, S., Vancampfort, D., Ward, P. B., & Schuch, F. B. (2016) · Journal of Affective Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.jad.2015.10.010 · Cited by 163 · see citing works
Prospective study of cardiorespiratory fitness and depressive symptoms in women and men
Sui, X., Laditka, J. N., Church, T. S., Hardin, J. W., Chase, N. L., Davis, K. E., & Blair, S. N. (2008) · Journal of Psychiatric Research · doi:10.1016/j.jpsychires.2008.08.002 · Cited by 147 · see citing works
Self-citationZhang, H., Li, L., Wu, M. C., Chen, Z., Hu, X., Chen, Y., Zhu, H., Jia, Z., & Gong, Q. (2015) · Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2015.10.011 · Cited by 147 · see citing works
Promotion of cardiorespiratory fitness in schizophrenia: a clinical overview and meta‐analysis
Vancampfort, D., Rosenbaum, S., Probst, M., Soundy, A., Mitchell, A. J., Hert, M. A. F. D., & Stubbs, B. (2015) · Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica · doi:10.1111/acps.12407 · Cited by 133 · see citing works
Self-citationVancampfort, D., Rosenbaum, S., Ward, P. B., & Stubbs, B. (2015) · Schizophrenia Research · doi:10.1016/j.schres.2015.09.029 · Cited by 113 · see citing works
Self-citationÅberg, M., Wærn, M., Nyberg, J., Pedersen, N. L., Bergh, Y., Åberg, N. D., Nilsson, M., Kuhn, H. G., & Torén, K. (2012) · The British Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1192/bjp.bp.111.103416 · Cited by 112 · see citing works
Associations between physical activity and depressive symptoms in women
Teychenne, M. J., Ball, K., & Salmon, J. (2008) · International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity · doi:10.1186/1479-5868-5-27 · Cited by 109 · see citing works
Angst, J., Paksarian, D., Cui, L., Merikangas, K. R., Hengartner, M. P., Ajdacic‐Gross, V., & Wulf Rössler, A. (2015) · Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences · doi:10.1017/s204579601500027x · Cited by 86 · see citing works
Papasavvas, T., Bonow, R. O., Alhashemi, M., & Micklewright, D. P. (2015) · Sports Medicine · doi:10.1007/s40279-015-0409-5 · Cited by 84 · see citing works
Physical fitness in people with posttraumatic stress disorder: a systematic review
Vancampfort, D., Stubbs, B., Richards, J. A., Ward, P. B., Firth, J., Schuch, F. B., & Rosenbaum, S. (2016) · Disability and Rehabilitation · doi:10.1080/09638288.2016.1226412 · Cited by 75 · see citing works
Self-citationCoffee consumption and bladder cancer: a meta-analysis of observational studies
Wu, W., Tong, Y., Zhao, Q., Yu, G., Wei, X., & Lü, Q. (2015) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/srep09051 · Cited by 74 · see citing works
A Prospective Study of Fitness, Fatness, and Depressive Symptoms
Becofsky, K. M., Sui, X., Lee, D.-C., Wilcox, S., Zhang, J., & Blair, S. N. (2015) · American Journal of Epidemiology · doi:10.1093/aje/kwu330 · Cited by 64 · see citing works
Self-citationDifferential Determinants of Men's and Women's Everyday Physical Activity in Later Life
Chipperfield, J. G., Newall, N. E. G., Chuchmach, L., Swift, A., & Haynes, T. L. (2008) · The Journals of Gerontology Series B · doi:10.1093/geronb/63.4.s211 · Cited by 46 · see citing works
Health‐related quality of life and aerobic fitness in people with schizophrenia
Vancampfort, D., Guelinckx, H., Probst, M., Stubbs, B., Rosenbaum, S., Ward, P. B., & Binder, M. D. (2015) · International Journal of Mental Health Nursing · doi:10.1111/inm.12145 · Cited by 42 · see citing works
Self-citationGubata, M. E., Urban, N., Cowan, D. N., & Niebuhr, D. W. (2013) · Journal of Psychosomatic Research · doi:10.1016/j.jpsychores.2013.04.003 · Cited by 31 · see citing works
Aerobic capacity is associated with global functioning in people with schizophrenia
Vancampfort, D., Guelinckx, H., Probst, M., Ward, P. B., Rosenbaum, S., Stubbs, B., & Binder, M. D. (2015) · Journal of Mental Health · doi:10.3109/09638237.2015.1036974 · Cited by 22 · see citing works
Self-citationJulien, D., Gauvin, L. I., Richard, L., Kestens, Y., & Payette, H. (2015) · Mental health and physical activity · doi:10.1016/j.mhpa.2015.02.001 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Physical Activity and Incident Depression: A Meta-Analysis of Prospective Cohort Studies
Schuch, F. B., Vancampfort, D., Firth, J., Rosenbaum, S., Ward, P. B., Silva, E. S., Hallgren, M., Ponce De Leon, A., Dunn, A. L., Deslandes, A. C., et al. (2018) · American Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.2018.17111194 · Cited by 1,763 · see citing works
Self-citationKandola, A., Ashdown-Franks, G., Hendrikse, J., Sabiston, C. M., & Stubbs, B. (2019) · Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2019.09.040 · Cited by 1,309 · see citing works
Self-citationFirth, J., Solmi, M., Wootton, R. E., Vancampfort, D., Schuch, F. B., Hoare, E., Gilbody, S., Torous, J., Teasdale, S. B., Jackson, S. E., et al. (2020) · World Psychiatry · doi:10.1002/wps.20773 · Cited by 1,148 · see citing works
Self-citationRuegsegger, G. N., & Booth, F. W. (2018) · Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Medicine · doi:10.1101/cshperspect.a029694 · Cited by 690 · see citing works
Effect of aerobic exercise on hippocampal volume in humans: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Firth, J., Stubbs, B., Vancampfort, D., Schuch, F., Lagopoulos, J., Rosenbaum, S., & Ward, P. B. (2018) · NeuroImage · doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2017.11.007 · Cited by 526 · see citing works
Self-citationExercise and the Prevention of Depression: Results of the HUNT Cohort Study
Harvey, S. B., Øverland, S., Hatch, S. L., Wessely, S., Mykletun, A., & Hotopf, M. (2018) · American Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.2017.16111223 · Cited by 493 · see citing works
Kandola, A., Ashdown-Franks, G., Stubbs, B., Osborn, D. P. J., & Hayes, J. F. (2019) · Journal of Affective Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.jad.2019.07.088 · Cited by 172 · see citing works
Self-citationKandola, A., & Stubbs, B. (2020) · Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology · doi:10.1007/978-981-15-1792-1_23 · Cited by 140 · see citing works
Self-citationCroatto, G., Vancampfort, D., Miola, A., Olivola, M., Fiedorowicz, J. G., Firth, J., Alexinschi, O., Gaina, M. A., Makkai, V., Soares, F. C., et al. (2023) · Molecular Psychiatry · doi:10.1038/s41380-022-01770-w · Cited by 66 · see citing works
Self-citationWillis, B. L., Leonard, D., Barlow, C. E., Martin, S. B., DeFina, L. F., & Trivedi, M. H. (2018) · JAMA Psychiatry · doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2018.1467 · Cited by 62 · see citing works
Santini, Z. I., Koyanagi, A., Tyrovolas, S., Haro, J. M., Donovan, R. J., Nielsen, L., & Koushede, V. (2017) · Experimental Gerontology · doi:10.1016/j.exger.2017.02.074 · Cited by 49 · see citing works
Longitudinal cardio-respiratory fitness prediction through wearables in free-living environments
Spathis, D., Perez-Pozuelo, I., Gonzales, T. I., Wu, Y., Brage, S., Wareham, N., & Mascolo, C. (2022) · npj Digital Medicine · doi:10.1038/s41746-022-00719-1 · Cited by 30 · see citing works
Tacchi, M. J., Heggelund, J., & Scott, J. (2019) · Early Intervention in Psychiatry · doi:10.1111/eip.12783 · Cited by 24 · see citing works
- Authors
- Schuch, F. B., Vancampfort, D., Sui, X., Rosenbaum, S., Firth, J., Richards, J., Ward, P. B., & Stubbs, B.
- Affiliations
- Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre (BR)
- KU Leuven (BE)
- University of South Carolina (US)
- Black Dog Institute (AU)
- University of Manchester (GB)
- The University of Sydney (AU)
- UNSW Sydney (AU)
- National Health Service (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Schuch, Felipe B.
- ORCID
- Venue
- Preventive Medicine
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2016-12
- Volume
- 93
- Pages
- 159-165
- ISSN
- 0091-7435 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2536337695
- Cited by
- 111
- References
- 46
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5 · 2025: 11 · 2024: 8 · 2023: 10 · 2022: 12 · 2021: 7 · 2020: 12 · 2019: 21 · 2018: 12 · 2017: 12 · 2016: 1
- FWCI
- 1.80
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Preventive Medicine (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Research Portal (King's College London) (submittedVersion)
- Lirias (KU Leuven) (submittedVersion)
- Research Explorer (The University of Manchester) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Physical Activity and Health
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine › Cardiac Health and Mental Health
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Complementary and alternative medicine › Cardiovascular and exercise physiology
- Keywords
- cardiorespiratory fitness, depression, incident depression, physical activity, depression risk
- MeSH terms
- Cardiorespiratory Fitness, Depression, Humans, Prospective Studies, Risk Factors, Exercise
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
