Exercise –vs– Antidepressants………
“Depression is common in patients with cardiac disease, especially in patients with heart failure, and is associated with increased risk of adverse health outcomes. Some evidence suggests that aerobic exercise may reduce depressive symptoms…..”
“Objective — To determine whether exercise training will result in greater improvements in depressive symptoms compared with usual care…..”
“randomized controlled trial involving 2322 stable patients treated for heart failure at 82 medical clinical centers….”
“The exercise group also adhered to their program better and had relatively large decreases in depressive symptoms……”
“The more depressed a person was, the more they seemed to improve with exercise. After the one year point, depressed patient scores were about 1.5 points better in the exercise group compared to those assigned to usual care.”
“The results show that exercise ‘is in the same ballpark’ as other established treatments, particularly antidepressant medications….”
“We’re talking about three, 30-minute sessions for an accumulated 90 minutes a week. And the results are significant improvements in mental health, reduced hospitalization.”
J.A. Blumenthal, et al
Effects of Exercise Training on Depressive Symptoms in Patients With Chronic Heart FailureThe HF-ACTION Randomized Trial
Journal of the American Medical Association…..Volume 308 #5….August 1, 2012…..page 465 – 474
“The difference between the effect of a placebo and the effect of an anti-depressant is minimal for most people.”
“People get better when they take the drug, but its not the chemical ingredients in the drug that are making them better, its largely the placebo effect.”
Irving Kirsch [Associate Director Placebo Studies, Harvard Medical School]
60 Minutes segment….Treating Depression: Is there a placebo effect?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zihdr36WVi4
60 Minutes segment….The placebo phenomenona
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fG4AXXMPXc