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Virtual Reality Exercise for Anxiety and Depression: A Preliminary Review of Current Research in an Emerging Field

Objective: Although current evidence supports the use of virtual reality (VR) in the treatment of mental disorders, it is unknown whether VR exercise would be beneficial to mental health. This review synthesized literature concerning the effect of VR exercise on anxiety and depression among various...

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Autores principales: Zeng, Nan, Pope, Zachary, Lee, Jung Eun, Gao, Zan
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2018
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5867568/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29510528
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/jcm7030042
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author Zeng, Nan
Pope, Zachary
Lee, Jung Eun
Gao, Zan
author_facet Zeng, Nan
Pope, Zachary
Lee, Jung Eun
Gao, Zan
author_sort Zeng, Nan
collection PubMed
description Objective: Although current evidence supports the use of virtual reality (VR) in the treatment of mental disorders, it is unknown whether VR exercise would be beneficial to mental health. This review synthesized literature concerning the effect of VR exercise on anxiety and depression among various populations. Methods: Ten electronic databases were searched for studies on this topic from January 2000 through October 2017. Studies were eligible if the article: (1) was peer-reviewed; (2) was published in English; and (3) used quantitative measures in assessing anxiety- and depression-related outcomes. Results: A total of five empirical studies met the eligibility criteria. These studies included two randomized clinical trials, one control trial, and two cross-sectional studies. Four studies reported significant improvements in anxiety- and depression-related measures following VR exercise, including reduced tiredness and tension, in addition to increased energy and enjoyment. Nonetheless, one study failed to support the effectiveness of VR exercise over traditional exercise alone on depressive symptoms. Conclusions: Findings favor VR exercise in alleviating anxiety and depression symptomology. However, existing evidence is insufficient to support the advantages of VR exercise as a standalone treatment over traditional therapy in the alleviation of anxiety and depression given the paucity of studies, small sample sizes, and lack of high-quality research designs. Future studies may build upon these limitations to discern the optimal manner by which to employ VR exercise in clinical settings.
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spelling pubmed-58675682018-04-09 Virtual Reality Exercise for Anxiety and Depression: A Preliminary Review of Current Research in an Emerging Field Zeng, Nan Pope, Zachary Lee, Jung Eun Gao, Zan J Clin Med Review Objective: Although current evidence supports the use of virtual reality (VR) in the treatment of mental disorders, it is unknown whether VR exercise would be beneficial to mental health. This review synthesized literature concerning the effect of VR exercise on anxiety and depression among various populations. Methods: Ten electronic databases were searched for studies on this topic from January 2000 through October 2017. Studies were eligible if the article: (1) was peer-reviewed; (2) was published in English; and (3) used quantitative measures in assessing anxiety- and depression-related outcomes. Results: A total of five empirical studies met the eligibility criteria. These studies included two randomized clinical trials, one control trial, and two cross-sectional studies. Four studies reported significant improvements in anxiety- and depression-related measures following VR exercise, including reduced tiredness and tension, in addition to increased energy and enjoyment. Nonetheless, one study failed to support the effectiveness of VR exercise over traditional exercise alone on depressive symptoms. Conclusions: Findings favor VR exercise in alleviating anxiety and depression symptomology. However, existing evidence is insufficient to support the advantages of VR exercise as a standalone treatment over traditional therapy in the alleviation of anxiety and depression given the paucity of studies, small sample sizes, and lack of high-quality research designs. Future studies may build upon these limitations to discern the optimal manner by which to employ VR exercise in clinical settings. MDPI 2018-03-04 /pmc/articles/PMC5867568/ /pubmed/29510528 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/jcm7030042 Text en © 2018 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Review
Zeng, Nan
Pope, Zachary
Lee, Jung Eun
Gao, Zan
Virtual Reality Exercise for Anxiety and Depression: A Preliminary Review of Current Research in an Emerging Field
title Virtual Reality Exercise for Anxiety and Depression: A Preliminary Review of Current Research in an Emerging Field
title_full Virtual Reality Exercise for Anxiety and Depression: A Preliminary Review of Current Research in an Emerging Field
title_fullStr Virtual Reality Exercise for Anxiety and Depression: A Preliminary Review of Current Research in an Emerging Field
title_full_unstemmed Virtual Reality Exercise for Anxiety and Depression: A Preliminary Review of Current Research in an Emerging Field
title_short Virtual Reality Exercise for Anxiety and Depression: A Preliminary Review of Current Research in an Emerging Field
title_sort virtual reality exercise for anxiety and depression: a preliminary review of current research in an emerging field
topic Review
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5867568/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29510528
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/jcm7030042
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