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Physical exercise (PE) has been suggested as a potential complementary tool for substance use disorder (SUD) recovery. However, its potential benefits for the brain and cognitive functions are relatively less explored, even though cognitive functions play a key role in the recovery process. Here, we aim to (1) compile results from studies that examined the effects of PE on brain and/or cognitive functions in individuals with SUD, and (2) provide recommendations for future research and practitioners. We searched for articles that investigated either the acute or chronic effects of PE on brain markers and/or cognitive functions in individuals diagnosed with SUD. We then provided recommendations for future research studies based on limitations of the current literature, as well as instructions to practitioners about how to set up a PE program aiming to help the recovery process. We found 9 studies examining the acute effects of PE and 14 investigating the impact of chronic PE. Most of them (∼70%) were from China and had methamphetamine users (∼61%) as their sample. Several limitations in the literature were found, including the lack of baseline physical activity levels, lack of studies on other populations, and lack of studies examining other exercise modalities (e.g., resistance training). Recommendations include the use of affect and perceived effort scales, expanding the studies to include behavioral economic variables (e.g., delay discounting and demand), exploring self-selected intensity exercises to increase adherence rates, and taking into consideration individual exercise type preference (e.g., running, swimming, lifting). • Physical exercise has been shown to improve cognitive functions in SUD recovery. • A compilation of studies on this topic is needed to address potential limitations. • Several important limitations are addressed in our study. • Several research recommendations are provided for future studies. • Several practical recommendations are provided for practitioners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Importance: Objective physical fitness measures, such as handgrip strength, are associated with physical, mental, and cognitive outcomes in the general population. Although people with mental illness experience reduced physical fitness and cognitive impairment, the association between muscular strength and cognition has not been examined to date.Objective: To determine associations between maximal handgrip strength and cognitive performance in people with major depression or bipolar disorder and in healthy controls.Design, Setting, and Participants: In a multicenter, population-based study conducted between February 13, 2005, and October 1, 2010, in the United Kingdom, cross-sectional analysis was conducted of baseline data from 110 067 participants in the UK Biobank. Data analysis was performed between August 3 and August 18, 2017. Invitations were mailed to approximately 9.2 million UK homes, recruiting 502 664 adults, all aged 37 to 73 years. Clinically validated measures were used to identify individuals with major recurrent depression (moderate or severe) or bipolar disorder (type I or type II) and healthy controls (those with no indication of present or previous mood disorders).Main Outcomes and Measures: Handgrip dynamometry was used to measure muscular function. Cognitive functioning was assessed using computerized tasks of reaction time, visual memory, number memory, reasoning, and prospective memory. Generalized linear mixed models assessed the association between handgrip strength and cognitive performance, controlling for age, educational level, sex, body weight, and geographic region.Results: Of the 110 067 participants, analyses included 22 699 individuals with major depression (mean [95% range] age, 55.5 [41-68] years; 7936 [35.0%] men), 1475 with bipolar disorder (age, 54.4 [41-68] years; 748 [50.7%] men), and 85 893 healthy controls (age, 53.7 [41-69] years; 43 000 [50.0%] men). In those with major depression, significant positive associations (P < .001) between maximal handgrip strength and improved performance on all 5 cognitive tasks were found, including visual memory (coefficient, -0.146; SE, 0.014), reaction time (coefficient, -0.036; SE, 0.002), reasoning (coefficient, 0.213; SE, 0.02), number memory (coefficient, 0.160; SE, 0.023), and prospective memory (coefficient, 0.341; SE, 0.024). Similar results were found in healthy controls. Among participants with bipolar disorder, handgrip strength was positively associated with improved visual memory (coefficient, -0.129; SE, 0.052; P = .01), reaction time (coefficient, -0.047; SE, 0.007; P < .001), prospective memory (coefficient, 0.262; SE, 0.088; P = .003), and reasoning (coefficient, 0.354; SE, 0.08; P < .001).Conclusions and Relevance: Grip strength may provide a useful indicator of cognitive impairment in people with major depression and bipolar disorder. Future research should investigate causality, assess the functional implications of handgrip strength in psychiatric populations, and examine how interventions to improve muscular fitness affect neurocognitive status and socio-occupational functioning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

24-h movement behavior (24-HMB) guidelines suggest that children and adolescents should limit screen time (ST), get an adequate amount of sleep (SL), and engage in a sufficient amount of physical activity (PA) to ensure optimal health. However, it is not fully understood how adherence to these 24-HMB guidelines apply specifically to visually impaired children and adolescents. To address this gap in the literature, a cross-sectional study was conducted to investigate potential associations between adherence to the 24-HMB guidelines and academic, social, and emotional outcomes among a national sample of visually impaired children and adolescents. Data on movement behaviors (physical activity, screen time, and sleep duration) and specific outcome variables (academic performance, social function, and emotional function) were collected through caregiver-proxy reports (questionnaires completed by the caregivers of the visually impaired children and adolescents aged between 6 and 17 years). Logistic regressions were performed to examine the associations between the adherence to 24-HMB guidelines and academic, social, and emotional outcomes adjusting for covariates (e.g., age, sex, race, weight, birth status, household poverty level, and the caregiver's education level) and calculate the odds ratio with 95% confidence interval (CI). Among 907 visually impaired children and adolescents, only a small proportion adhered to all three 24-HMB guidelines (6.12%). The prevalence of adhering to the SL (33.16%) was higher than those participants meeting PA (3.68%) and ST guidelines (10.28%). As compared to participants who did not meet any of the three 24-HMB guidelines, adhering to: (1) PA + ST guidelines were linked to better academic performance; (2) PA + ST guidelines were linked to less social difficulties, and (3) SL + ST guidelines were linked to better emotional functioning. Less than one-third of the visually impaired children and adolescents did meet one or more guidelines of the 24-HMB recommendations. Adhering to the 24-HMB guidelines, both alone and in an integrated manner, was linked to better academic performance, social relationships, and emotional functioning while visually impaired children and adolescents who adhered to PA + ST guidelines benefited the most. Our results suggest that the promotion of the 24-HMB guidelines among visually impaired children and adolescents might be an effective intervention strategy to promote academic, social, and emotional development among this unique group, although further research is necessary to empirically buttress this assumption. [Display omitted] • Many visually impaired children and adolescents did not adhere to the 24-h movement guidelines. • Approaches aimed at improving mental well-being could include improving physical activity and reducing screen time. • Encouraging visually impaired children and adolescents to follow the 24-h movement guidelines might support their overall development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our aim was to test the potential moderating role of occupation type in the association between the domains of physical activity and depressive symptoms. We used data of 51,895 adults (44.8% women, 40.7 ± 13.3 years), currently employed, from the 2019 Brazilian National Health Survey. Depressive symptoms were assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). Self-reported physical activity (min/week) was assessed in four domains (i.e., leisure-time, transportation, occupational, and household). Type of occupation was characterized into five categories according to the International Standard Classification of Occupations: 1) Managers/qualified professionals, 2) Technicians/associate professionals, 3) Clerks/service workers, 4) Qualified manual workers, 5) Elementary manual workers. Age, ethnicity, educational level, income, and TV-viewing were used as covariates. Poisson regression was used for the analysis of association and moderation, through the inclusion of interaction terms. In the whole sample, leisure-time physical activity was associated with lower depressive symptoms, while transportation, occupational and household physical activity were associated with higher depressive symptoms. Type of occupation modified the association between leisure-time physical activity and depressive symptoms. That is, compared to managers/qualified professionals, leisure-time physical activity had larger associations with increased depressive symptoms in technicians/associate professionals (considering an increase of 100 min/wk of physical activity: unstandardized coefficient [ B ]:0.073, 95%CI:0.024; 0.121), qualified (B :0.067, 95%CI:0.025; 0.110) and elementary (B :0.065, 95%CI:0.016; 0.115) manual workers than among managers/qualified professionals. Stratified analyzes by occupation suggested that leisure-time physical activity was associated with lower depressive symptoms especially among managers/qualified professionals, while household physical activity and occupational physical activity were consistently associated with higher depressive symptoms across the different occupations. Transportation physical activity was associated with elevated depressive symptoms among clerks/service workers and qualified manual workers. The association between the domains of physical activity and depressive symptoms is dependent on the type of occupation. Future research exploring the association between domain-based physical activity and depression should account for the type of occupation. • Leisure-time physical activity was associated with lower depressive symptoms especially among managers/qualified professionals. • Household and occupational physical activity were consistently associated with higher depressive symptoms across the different occupations. • Transport physical activity was associated with elevated depressive symptoms among clerks/service workers and qualified manual workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Physical activity (PA) interventions have shown promising in improving core symptoms of children and adolescents with ADHD, yet treatment dropout may pose a challenge to routine implementation in clinical practice. We conducted a meta-analysis to investigate the prevalence and predictors of treatment dropout from PA interventions in children and adolescents with ADHD. Electronic databases were searched from inception until 06/2016. Randomized control trials of PA interventions in children and adolescents with ADHD reporting dropout rates were included. A random effects meta-analysis and meta-regression analyses were performed. In 8 studies involving 9 PA intervention arms, 148 children or adolescents assigned to a PA intervention (mean age range = 8.2–15.8 years, 87.8% male) were included. The trim and fill adjusted treatment dropout rate was 17.5% (95%CI = 9.8%–29.4%). The prevalence of dropouts in exercisers was not significantly different from the dropouts in control conditions (odds ratio, OR = 1.12; 95%CI = 0.48–2.65; I 2 = 0). Lower dropout was observed in sports interventions compared with structured aerobic exercise or yoga (p = 0.049). A higher proportion of male participants (β = 0.05; 95%CI = 0.001 to 0.10; p = 0.045, R 2 = 1.0) appeared to moderate higher dropout rates from PA interventions. Our findings suggest that in order to maximize PA participation, and therefore health benefits, sports-related interventions should be offered in the multidisciplinary treatment of children and adolescents with ADHD. Our data also suggest that males with ADHD may be more likely to dropout. Dropout rates are comparable to control conditions, suggesting that PA interventions are feasible in adolescents with ADHD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our aim was to analyze the association between different social contexts of physical activity (PA) and depressive symptoms. Data from the Brazilian National Health Survey (PNS) (n = 59,722; ≥18 years) were used. The social context of leisure-time PA [classified according to the higher probability of being practiced in group (group PA) or individually (individual PA)] and total PA time were self-reported. Depressive symptoms were evaluated through the Patient Health Questionnaire-9. Chronological age, ethnicity, educational status, employment status, tobacco smoking, alcohol ingestion, and soft drink consumption were co-variables. Logistic regression models were applied for association analyses. Among men, individual and group PA were associated with lower depressive symptoms compared with the no PA group among men [Individual: OR:0.59 (95%CI:0.40 to 0.86); Group: OR:0.42 (95%CI:0.29 to 0.59)]. Sensitivity analysis revealed that men involved in group PA were 40% [OR:0.60 (95%CI:0.38 to 0.94)] less likely to present elevated depressive symptoms when compared with individual PA. In females, no differences in depressive symptoms were observed comparing individual PA [OR:0.89 (95%CI:0.71 to 1.11)] and group PA [OR:0.86 (95%CI:0.54 to 1.37)] with the no PA group. Activities that are more likely to be a group PA demonstrated a stronger association with low depressive symptoms among men, but not women. • Both contexts of leisure-time physical activity are associated with reduced depressive symptoms, especially among men. • Among men, activities that are more likely to be practiced in group are strongly associated with lower depressive symptoms. • Interventions should focus on the increase of physical activity especially through group-based physical activity practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aims of this commentary are to (1) examine the current global physical activity recommendations for adults and its relation to mental health, based on findings from meta-analyses primarily of prospective studies, and (2) determine whether there is a need to extend the scope/focus of existing guidelines to ensure they are mental health informed. • Physical activity, even in low doses, associated with lower risk of mental illness. • Leisure and transport physical activity most likely to confer mental health benefits. • Current guidelines may not effectively address mental health outcomes. • Suggestions for updated guidelines are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]