Effectiveness of Exercise in the Treatment of Depression in Older People as an Alternative to Drugs Antidepressants in Primary Care

This is a randomized clinical trial in primary care in which a total of 312 patients over 65 years with clinically significant depression will be randomly assigned to an exercise program supervised or receive treatment with antidepressant drugs commonly used in clinical practice. At baseline physical fitness of the participants will be checked, and assessments will be made after 15 days and 1, 3 and 6 months. The supervised exercise program will consist of 2 sessions per week in groups of 10-12 patients over a 6 month period in which a sports instructor will train patients to perform at least 30 minutes of regular, moderate-intensity activity with a frequency almost daily, including aerobic exercise and strength training, flexibility and balance. In both groups will be evaluated periodically, among other variables, the state of depressive symptoms, level of physical activity, self-rated health, occurrence of adverse effects and adherence to exercise program or antidepressant treatment. The main outcome measure is the reduction of the baseline score on the scales of depressive symptoms (Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale and Geriatric Depression Scale).