In the authors' words
“In the exercise group, statistically significant improvements were observed in subjects with moderate and severe depression (18 and 22%, respectively) and in those with symptoms of anxiety.”
What was measured
- Mood Reported an improvement
About the study
- Type
- Randomised trial
- Who took part
- Postmenopausal, depression or anxiety
- How many
- 60
- How long
- 26 weeks
- Exercise
- Aerobic plus resistance
- Cited
- 32 times, per Europe PMC
- PubMed ID
- 22409782
How to read this. Each line is one study, summarised in plain language from its PubMed abstract, with the authors' own sentence underneath on the study page. A count of studies is not a verdict: trials differ in size, length and quality, and a result in one group of women may not hold in another. Nothing here is medical advice.
Summaries are generated, then checked by machine against the abstract they came from; any summary that could not be matched word for word was left out. Our clinical lead is reviewing the summaries topic by topic, and this note will change when that is done. Corpus last refreshed 2026-11-03. Spotted a mistake? Tell us and we will fix the summary or remove the study.
Similar studies
- A meta-analysis of 26 RCTs in postmenopausal women found exercise reduced depression, with mind-body exercise ranked most effective, and also improved anxiety.
- A network meta-analysis of 33 RCTs in postmenopausal women found resistance, mind-body, aerobic, and combined exercise all reduced depressive symptoms, with resistance and mind-body exercise ranking highest.
- A meta-analysis of 29 RCTs in 2071 women with breast cancer found combined aerobic and resistance training improved fitness, fatigue and quality of life, with smaller benefits in postmenopausal women.
- A meta-analysis of 23 trials in people with osteoporosis, 95 percent female with an average age of 67, found exercise such as resistance training, balance training and Pilates improved mental health, quality of life and pain.