Aerobic Exercise as an Adjunct Therapy for Depression

September 9, 2026 updated by: Manahil Gill

Role of Aerobic Exercise as an Adjunct Therapy in the Treatment of Depression in South Punjab, Pakistan

The goal of this study is to compare the reduction in the severity of depression after a duration of 06 weeks between patients receiving conventional therapy (antidepressant; Sertraline) only and those receiving both conventional therapy and a structured aerobic exercise (cycling, brisk walking).

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

This study will compare two groups A and B for 06 weeks to study the reduction in severity of depression.

  • Comparison group (Group-A): In this group participants will receive standard antidepressant treatment such as Sertraline (SSRIs) and psychotherapy (CBT) only. After 06 weeks, patients will again be assessed for their level of depression using the BDI scale.
  • Experimental group (Group-B): In this group participants will undergo structured exercise program in addition to conventional pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy. They will be introduced to aerobic exercises which includes cycling and brisk walking and will undergo three supervised sessions for 35 minutes each, per week for total 06 weeks under supervision of trainee psychiatry.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

66

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact Backup

  • Name: Muhammad Ahsan Mustafa, MBBS
  • Phone Number: + 92 333 3396180

Study Locations

  • Pakistan
    • Punjab Province
      • Chak Four Hundred Fifty-four, Punjab Province, Pakistan, 63100
        • Recruiting
        • CMH Bahawalpur
        • Contact:
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Manahil Gill, MBBS, Registrar Psychiatry
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Beenish Hassan Khan, MBBS, FCPS Psychiatry
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Mansoor Mustafa, MBBS, FCPS Psychiatry

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

i. All new patients diagnosed with moderate and severe depression using BDI scale according to ICD-11 criteria between the ages of 18-55 years.

ii. Both genders will be included.

Exclusion Criteria:

i. Patients with severe physical disabilities such as Spinal cord injuries, severe osteoporosis or medical conditions that prevent exercise such as ischemic changes in ECG pre-exercise.

ii. Pregnant females. iii. Individuals already engaging in physical activities like athletes.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
No Intervention: Comparison
Participants will receive conventional treatment only for 06 weeks
Experimental: Aerobic Exercise
Participants will receive structured aerobic exercise cycling or brisk walking in addition to conventional treatment for 06 weeks
Behavioral: Structured Aerobic exercise
Participants will receive structured, supervised aerobic exercise ( cycling, brisk walking), in addition to conventional treatment consisting of 03 sessions per week, 35 minutes each for 06 weeks.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) score
Time Frame: Baseline to 06 weeks
The primary outcome will be the mean change in BDI score from baseline to the end of 06 weeks intervention period, a reduction in BDI score indicates improvement in depressive symptoms.
Baseline to 06 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Manahil Gill

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

June 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

February 1, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

February 1, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

September 9, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 9, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

September 15, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

September 15, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 9, 2026

Last Verified

September 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 1516/EC/03/2025

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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