Acute effects of mind-body practices and exercise in depressed inpatients: A randomized clinical trial

Aim: To analyze acute effects of exercise (EX) and mind-body practices (MB) on anxiety, affect and well-being as well as on changes in markers of neurogenesis and inflammation in a sample of inpatients with depression.Method: A randomized, controlled crossover trial involving 33 inpatients (72.7% female, mean age 37.03 +/- 14.32 years-old) with a depressive episode (DE). The participants performed a single bout of EX, MB, and a control activity (CA) and were randomized into groups that performed the activities in the order of EX-CA-MB or MB-CA-EX. EX involved mixed aerobic and anaerobic exercises, MB combined mindfulness, yoga and meditation practices while CA involved coloring figures or free hand drawing. Stait-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), the Positive Affect and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS), and an analogue visual scale (AVS) for well-being were used to assess effects on anxiety and well-being. Levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), interleukins (IL) 1 beta, 6, 10 and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-a) were analyzed in samples collected immediately before and after each intervention.Results: All interventions showed a time-dependent effect on clinical and biological variables, except for IL-10. Among clinical variables, EX had a time-group interaction for well-being. EX and MB both had a time-group interaction for negative affect, and the effect was stronger than that for EX. Among biological variables, MB acutely decreased (IL) 1 beta, and EX acutely decreased TNF-alpha. Conclusions: EX and MB have acute effects in reducing negative affect and anxiety, while promoting well-being and positive affect. These findings support that MB and EX (anaerobic and aerobic) alone can have acute effects on biological and clinical variables.