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AEROBIC EXERCISE TRAINING FACILITATES THE EFFECTIVENESS OF COGNITIVE BEHAVIORAL THERAPY IN PANIC DISORDER
Author(s) -
Gaudlitz Katharina,
Plag Jens,
Dimeo Fernando,
Ströhle Andreas
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
depression and anxiety
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.634
H-Index - 129
eISSN - 1520-6394
pISSN - 1091-4269
DOI - 10.1002/da.22337
Subject(s) - aerobic exercise , physical therapy , panic disorder , agoraphobia , randomized controlled trial , anxiety , psychology , cognitive behavioral therapy , analysis of covariance , cognitive therapy , medicine , clinical psychology , psychiatry , computer science , machine learning
Background Physical activity has been discussed as a therapeutic alternative or add‐on for the treatment of anxiety disorders. We studied whether aerobic exercise compared to physical activity with low impact can improve the effect of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) in patients with panic disorder (PD) with/without agoraphobia. Methods Forty‐seven patients received group CBT treatment over 1 month, which was augmented with an 8‐week protocol of either aerobic exercise (three times/week, 30 min, 70% VO 2 max; n = 24) or a training program including exercises with very low intensity ( n = 23) in a randomized controlled double‐blind design. The primary outcome measure was the total score on the Hamilton Anxiety Scale (Ham‐A). A 2 × 3 analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) with baseline value as a covariate was conducted for data analysis. Results Time × group interaction for the Ham‐A revealed a significant effect ( P = .047, η 2 p = .072), which represented the significant group difference at a 7‐month follow‐up. For the other clinical outcome measures no statistical significance emerged, although improvement was more sustained in the exercise group. Conclusions For patients with PD, regular aerobic exercise adds an additional benefit to CBT. This supports previous results and provides evidence about the intensity of exercise that needs to be performed.