AUTHOR=Zhao Yuanhui , Wang Wenxing , Wang Mengdie , Gao Fang , Hu Chun , Cui Bowen , Yu Wenlang , Ren Hong 

TITLE=Personalized individual-based exercise prescriptions are effective in treating depressive symptoms of college students during the COVID-19: A randomized controlled trial in China

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychiatry

VOLUME=Volume 13 - 2022

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychiatry/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2022.1015725

DOI=10.3389/fpsyt.2022.1015725

ISSN=1664-0640

ABSTRACT=Backgroundː The COVID-19 pandemic has seriously increased depression prevalence among the public, including Chinese college students. However, many exercise cannot be performed as usual under the stay-at-home order. This study was a 12-week three-arm randomized controlled trial using the intention-to-treat principle, aiming to explore and compare the feasibility and effect of individual-based personalized aerobic-exercise and resistance-training prescriptions on depressive symptoms in college students, and conclude with some recommendations for individual-based exercise prescriptions.
Methodsː Eighty-six college students with depressive symptoms were randomized into aerobic-exercise (AE), resistance-training (RT), and wait-list-control (WLC) groups. Participants in two experimental groups received 12-week personalized AE and RT prescriptions on their individual situations, respectively. No intervention was implemented on participants in WLC group. Depressive symptoms and physical activity (PA) were measured by Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS) and International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Short Form (IPAQ-SF), respectively. All data were collected at the baseline, 4, 8, 12 weeks, and 4-week post-intervention. 
Resultsː At 12 weeks, 72.09% of depressive participants improved to “normal”. Participants exhibited a statistical reduction in SDS in all 3 groups (p < 0.05) at 12 weeks compared to baseline. Follow-up assessments showed no significant increase in SDS at 4-week post-intervention compared to 12 weeks (p > 0.05). The independent t-test revealed significantly lower SDS in AE and RT group than in WLC group (p AE < 0.001, p RT < 0.05) at 4, 8, 12 weeks, and 4-week post-intervention. Furthermore, the PA of participants (including total PA and intensities) in both experimental groups represented a significant improvement at 4-week post-intervention compared to baseline (p < 0.05), while no differences were observed in the PA of participants in the WLC group (p > 0.05).
Conclusionː Personalized exercise prescriptions have good feasibility as they can increase adherence to intervention and reduce serious adverse events. Besides, individual-based personalized aerobic-exercise and resistance-training prescriptions result in a similar effect in relieving depressive symptoms and improving physical activity in college students. The individual-based exercise programs performed in 45- to 60- minutes with progressive moderate-to-vigorous intensity, 3 times/week for at least 12 weeks, may reduce depressive symptoms in college students during the COVID-19.