DATE: Depressed adolescents treated with exercise: Study rationale and design for a pilot study

There is an important need for non-medication interventions for depressed youth. The aim of this study is to evaluate the feasibility of using a standardized aerobic exercise regime to treat non-medicated clinically depressed adolescents based on adherence and completion rates, including 1) establishing effect sizes for the primary outcomes including the Chidren's Depression Rating Scale – Revised (CDRS-R) and Actical (energy expenditure data) as well as selected secondary outcomes; (e.g., Clinical Global Improvement, depression rating scales, exercise logs, attitudes), and 2) determining whether moderate to strenuous exercise (12 kcal/kg/week [KKW]) versus a control stretching activity (<4 KKW) for 12 weeks leads to a clinically meaningful reduction in depressive symptoms and/or improved psychosocial functioning. The challenge is to develop an exercise intervention that can motivate a typically sedentary depressed adolescent to exercise on a regular basis. The goal is to demonstrate that exercise alone can provide an important and effective non-medication intervention for adolescent depression. This paper reports on the rationale and design of a pilot study which aims to inform the design of a larger trial to evaluate the efficacy of aerobic exercise to treat adolescent depression. After describing the case for exercise within the broader context of the prevalence of adolescent depression and other treatments, the paper describes the intervention and procedures for data collection.