Background

Aerobic exercise (AE) demonstrated an overall medium treatment effect in anxiety disorders (AD) but there is evidence for an “intensity-response” relationship. High intensity interval training (HIIT) was highly effective on a range of (mental) health parameters. However, so far no randomised-controlled trial (RCT) investigated the efficacy of HIIT in AD.

Methods

33 patients with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) were randomly assigned to 12-day HIIT or a training of lower intensity (LIT). Anxiety, comorbid depression, stress-related bodily symptoms and perceived control over anxiety related stimuli (PC) were assessed at baseline, post-training and 30 days after baseline by using the Penn State Worry Questionnaire (PSWQ), the Hamilton Inventories for Anxiety and Depression (Ham-A, Ham-D), the Screening for Somatoform Symptoms-7 (SOMS-7) and the Anxiety Control Questionnaire (ACQ-R).

Results

Both interventions showed moderate or large effects on all clinical measures. However, effects for HIIT were generally about twice as high as for LIT. PC negatively correlated with GAD severity in the whole sample at baseline but an association of training-induced changes in PC and worrying were exclusively detectable in HIIT.

Conclusion

HIIT was highly effective and fast acting in GAD. Therefore, it may complement first-line treatment approaches in this condition.

中文翻译：

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解决忧虑：对广泛性焦虑症进行高强度间歇训练的随机对照试验

背景

有氧运动（AE）在焦虑症（AD）中显示出总体中效治疗效果，但有证据表明存在“强度-反应”关系。高强度间歇训练（HIIT）对一系列（心理）健康参数非常有效。但是，到目前为止，尚无随机对照试验（RCT）研究HIIT在AD中的疗效。

方法

将33例广泛性焦虑症（GAD）患者随机分配为12天HIIT或低强度训练（LIT）。在基线，训练后和基线后30天，使用宾州状态忧虑问卷（PSWQ），汉密尔顿焦虑量表和焦虑量表评估焦虑，合并抑郁，压力相关的身​​体症状和对焦虑相关刺激的感知控制。抑郁症（Ham-A，Ham-D），筛查症状7的筛查（SOMS-7）和焦虑控制问卷（ACQ-R）。

结果

两种干预措施均对所有临床措施均产生中度或较大影响。但是，HIIT的效果通常约为LIT的两倍。在基线时，整个样本中PC与GAD严重程度呈负相关，但在HIIT中仅可检测到训练引起的PC变化和忧虑之间的关联。

结论

HIIT在GAD中非常有效且行动迅速。因此，它可以补充这种情况下的一线治疗方法。