Exercise-based Interventions for Substance Abuse Populations Face Methodological Concerns and Knowledge Gaps, Scientific Review Finds
A new scientific review published in the journal Mental Health and Physical Activity has highlighted the methodological concerns and knowledge gaps in the literature on exercise-based interventions for substance abuse populations. While exercise has been suggested as a potential intervention to help individuals with substance abuse or dependence, the wide number of concerns and gaps in knowledge prevent the development of clinical recommendations.
The objective of the review was to summarise the evidence regarding the effectiveness of exercise-based interventions in altering psychological symptoms, substance use outcomes, and quality of life in adults with substance abuse or dependence. Substance abuse and dependence are significant public health concerns, with high prevalence rates and alarming suicide and mortality rates.
Key Findings:
– Exercise has been suggested as a potential intervention to help individuals with substance abuse or dependence.
– Previous systematic reviews have examined the effectiveness of exercise-based interventions, with some showing promising results.
– It is still unclear which type of exercise is most beneficial for specific populations and which psychological symptoms or substance abuse outcomes can be effectively addressed through exercise.
– The methodological quality of the systematic reviews was generally judged to be critically low, with issues such as lack of transparency in study selection and the need for supplementary files listing excluded studies.
– The researchers emphasized the need for future research to focus on improving the quality of systematic reviews and increasing the number of high-quality clinical trials.
The researchers conducted a comprehensive search of multiple databases and screened 314 titles and abstracts, selecting 18 systematic reviews that met the eligibility criteria. These systematic reviews included a total of 53 meta-analyses and 103 distinct clinical trials. Exercise-based interventions were often represented using global terms such as “exercise” or “physical activity,” while populations and outcomes of interest were represented using terms like mental health, anxiety, depression, or smoking.
However, it remained unclear which type of exercise (e.g. aerobic exercises, yoga-based interventions, strength exercises, or resistance exercises) was most effective for each substance abuse population, and the specific exercise interventions that produced the highest benefits for different psychological symptoms or substance abuse outcomes. The researchers also found several methodological concerns and gaps in knowledge.
The researchers emphasized the need for future research to focus on improving the quality of systematic reviews and increasing the number of high-quality clinical trials. They also called for the use of the GRADE approach in all meta-analyses to provide better understanding of the conditions under which clinical recommendations are made.
“Mostly, systematic reviews need to add the evaluation of the certainty of the evidence using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) approach,” said study author Javier Martínez-Calderón, an assistant professor at the University of Seville and co-founder of the Uncertainty, Mindfulness, Self, and Spirituality (UMSS) Research Group. “This is probably the gold standard tool to judge the certainty of those outcomes that are evaluated in systematic reviews, which is essential to implement clinical research in the clinical setting.”
The researchers emphasized the need for future research to focus on improving the quality of systematic reviews and increasing the number of high-quality clinical trials. They also called for the use of the GRADE approach in all meta-analyses to provide better understanding of the conditions under which clinical recommendations are made.
