Reuters (9/13, Seaman) reports that, according to a review published online Sept. 11 in The Cochrane Library, exercise may help modestly alleviate depressive symptoms. Researchers arrived at that conclusion after examining data from 35 studies.

MedPage Today (9/13, Bankhead) reports that “when compared with no treatment or control interventions, exercise was associated with a treatment effect of -0.62.” While the effect is modest, the study authors “recommended research aimed at identifying specific types of exercise that offer the greatest clinical benefit, as well as the number and duration of exercise sessions associated with the greatest benefit.”

Related Links:

— “Exercise may help alleviate depression: review, “Andrew M. Seaman, Reuters, September 12, 2013.

Medwire (9/12, McDermid) reports that, according to a study published online Sept. 4 in the Journal of Affective Disorders, “the presence of residual depressive symptoms may result in patients with bipolar disorder [BD] being nonadherent to their medication.” The 582-patient study revealed that “residual depressive symptoms and drug side effects were the only two factors to remain associated with total Medication Adherence Rating Scale (MARS) score after adjusting for multiple confounders and correcting for multiple testing.”

Related Links:

— “Depression highlighted as nonadherence risk in bipolar patients, “Eleanor McDermid, Medwire News, September 12, 2013.

Medscape (9/12, Cassels) reports that, according to a study published in the September issue of the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, “negative working conditions, including low job satisfaction, little control, and a lack of appreciation by employers, are responsible for a sizeable proportion of depression in middle-aged adults.” Researchers arrived at this conclusion after analyzing “the relationship between a large number of working conditions and depressive symptoms on the basis of four waves of data collection during a period of 15 years in 1889 US workers aged 25 years and older.”

HealthDay (9/12, Preidt) reports that, according to a study published online Sept. 11 in JAMA Psychiatry, “irritability and anger in people with major depression are associated with greater severity of depression and other problems.” After examining data on some 500 people followed for as long as three decades as part of a National Institute of Mental Health depression study, researchers also found that anger and irritability were tied to “poorer impulse control, higher rates of lifetime substance abuse and anxiety disorder, more antisocial personality disorders, reduced life satisfaction and a higher rate of bipolar disorder in relatives.”

Related Links:

— “Depression May Be Worse When Accompanied by Anger, Irritability, “Robert Preidt, HealthDay, September 11, 2013.

HealthDay (9/11, Preidt) reports that, according to a study published Sept. 10 in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, “when high school students learn how their thinking affects their well-being, they may boost their grades and reduce their risk of obesity, severe depression and substance use.” In a study of 800 high school students, half of whom were randomized to a control group and the other half to a “program based on the concepts of so-called cognitive behavioral therapy, with an emphasis on skills building,” researchers found that the teens assigned to the Creating Opportunities for Personal Empowerment Program “were less likely to be overweight, had better social behaviors, higher health class grades, lower levels of depression and drank less alcohol.”

Related Links:

— “Boosting Teens’ Mental Well-Being Is Goal of New Skills Program, “Robert Preidt, HealthDay, September 10, 2013.