The Relationship Between Physical Activity and Depressive Symptoms in Adolescents: A Systematic Review

Background and Purpose: Depression affects a significant number of adolescents and requires creative treatment planning. Physical activity (PA) as a treatment option for depression has moderate support through repeated systematic reviews in adults, but not in adolescents. The purpose of this work is to present a systematic review of the evidence within the past 5 years regarding the relationship between PA and depressive symptoms (DS) in adolescents, and to determine if the evidence supports PA as a viable treatment option for this age group. Methods: An extensive search was conducted through MEDLINE (i.e., Ovid and PubMed), CINAHL, and PsycINFO databases. Ten primary articles were ultimately selected and reviewed for their quality and contributions to the subject. The SORT tool was utilized to grade individual works and the body of evidence as a whole. Findings: As of the writing of this review, the author finds only one randomized controlled trial that explores the interaction between PA and DS in the adolescent age group. However, the body of evidence generated from this review indicates a strong inverse correlation between the two variables. Linking Evidence to Action: Further research must be conducted to determine causation. However, healthcare providers can and must provide both health education and health promotion surrounding the relationship between PA and DS in the adolescent age group to enhance well-ness and prevent disease.