Effect of supervised group Exercise on psychological WEll-being among
pregnant women with or at high risk of depression (the EWE Study): a
randomised controlled trial
Abstract
Objective To assess the effect of supervised group exercise on
psychological well-being and symptoms of depression among pregnant women
with or at high risk of depression. Design Randomised, controlled trial.
Setting Department of Obstetrics, Copenhagen University Hospital,
Rigshospitalet, Denmark. Population Pregnant women with a current or
previous history of depression or/and anxiety requiring treatment within
the last ten years, or use of antidepressants three months prior to or
during pregnancy. Methods From August 2016–September 2018 the
participants were randomly assigned to 12 weeks supervised group
exercise from 17–22 weeks of gestation twice weekly, or to a control
group. Main outcome measures The primary outcome was self-reported
psychological well-being at 29–34 weeks of gestation, measured by the
five-item World Health Organization Well-being Index (WHO-5). Secondary
outcomes included delivery outcomes and psychological well-being (WHO-5)
eight weeks postpartum. Results The analysis showed no significant
effect on psychological well-being on the primary outcome. Mean WHO-5
score in the intervention group was 2.0 (95% CI: –1.3 to 5.2, p=0.2)
higher than in the control group. Eight weeks postpartum the
intervention group reported higher psychological well-being than the
control group, mean difference in WHO-5 of 5.5 (95% CI: 1.0–10.1,
p=0.04). Conclusions Supervised group exercise did not improve
psychological well-being for women with or at high risk of depression at
29–34 weeks of gestation. Eight weeks postpartum the intervention group
reported significant higher psychological well-being than the control
group. Funding The Danish foundation TrygFonden and Copenhagen
University Hospital, Rigshospitalet. ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT02833519).
https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02833519?term=EWE&cntry=DK&draw=2&rank=1