Skip to main content
NCBI home page
British Journal of Sports Medicine logoLink to British Journal of Sports Medicine
. 1996 Sep;30(3):238–242. doi: 10.1136/bjsm.30.3.238

Acute effects of beta blockade and exercise on mood and anxiety.

A Head 1, M J Kendall 1, R Ferner 1, C Eagles 1
PMCID: PMC1332339  PMID: 8889119

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To measure the previously reported beta blocker induced adverse changes in mood state and anxiety measures, and to determine if prolonged aerobic exercise attenuates such mood modifications. METHODS: After 4 days of drug treatment with comparable doses of propranolol (40 and 80 mg), metoprolol (50 and 100 mg), or placebo, mood (POMS) and anxiety states (STAI) were assessed in healthy volunteers, before and after 1 h of treadmill walking exercise at 50% maximum oxygen uptake. RESULTS: Compared to placebo, resting "tension", "depression", and "total mood disturbance" were significantly higher on propranolol 80 mg, but all were reduced with exercise. "Fatigue" and "confusion" were also higher on propranolol, and were unaffected by exercise. "Fatigue" was also higher than placebo after exercise on metoprolol 100 mg. "Anxiety" was unaffected by drug treatment or exercise. CONCLUSIONS: The evidence that beta blockers, and particularly propranolol, have adverse effects on mood was confirmed. It would be preferable to prescribe a beta blocker which does not adversely alter mood states. However, exercise significantly reduced the measures of "tension" and "depression" which were adversely increased by propranolol. Exercise prescription may therefore not only be compatible with beta blockade, but a highly desirable adjuvant therapy.

Full text

PDF
238

Images in this article

240Figure 1
on p.240
240Figure 2
on p.240
240Figure 3
on p.240
241Figure 4
on p.241
241Figure 5
on p.241
241Figure 6
on p.241
242Figure 7
on p.242
242Figure 8
on p.242

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Ades P. A., Gunther P. G., Meacham C. P., Handy M. A., LeWinter M. M. Hypertension, exercise, and beta-adrenergic blockade. Ann Intern Med. 1988 Oct 15;109(8):629–634. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-109-8-629. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Avorn J., Everitt D. E., Weiss S. Increased antidepressant use in patients prescribed beta-blockers. JAMA. 1986 Jan 17;255(3):357–360. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Blair S. N., Kohl H. W., 3rd, Paffenbarger R. S., Jr, Clark D. G., Cooper K. H., Gibbons L. W. Physical fitness and all-cause mortality. A prospective study of healthy men and women. JAMA. 1989 Nov 3;262(17):2395–2401. doi: 10.1001/jama.262.17.2395. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Chandrashekhar Y., Anand I. S. Exercise as a coronary protective factor. Am Heart J. 1991 Dec;122(6):1723–1739. doi: 10.1016/0002-8703(91)90290-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Chua T. P., Lipkin D. P. Cardiac rehabilitation. BMJ. 1993 Mar 20;306(6880):731–732. doi: 10.1136/bmj.306.6880.731. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Daniel M., Martin A. D., Carter J. Opiate receptor blockade by naltrexone and mood state after acute physical activity. Br J Sports Med. 1992 Jun;26(2):111–115. doi: 10.1136/bjsm.26.2.111. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Dufaux B., Assmann G., Hollmann W. Plasma lipoproteins and physical activity: a review. Int J Sports Med. 1982 Aug;3(3):123–136. doi: 10.1055/s-2008-1026075. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Gloag D. Exercise, fitness, and health. BMJ. 1992 Aug 15;305(6850):377–378. doi: 10.1136/bmj.305.6850.377. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Goldwater B. C., Collis M. L. Psychologic effects of cardiovascular conditioning: a controlled experiment. Psychosom Med. 1985 Mar-Apr;47(2):174–181. doi: 10.1097/00006842-198503000-00009. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Held P., Yusuf S. Early intravenous beta-blockade in acute myocardial infarction. Cardiology. 1989;76(2):132–143. doi: 10.1159/000174484. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Juhlin-Dannfelt A. C., Terblanche S. E., Fell R. D., Young J. C., Holloszy J. O. Effects of beta-adrenergic receptor blockade on glycogenolysis during exercise. J Appl Physiol Respir Environ Exerc Physiol. 1982 Sep;53(3):549–554. doi: 10.1152/jappl.1982.53.3.549. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Kaplan N. M. Non-drug treatment of hypertension. Ann Intern Med. 1985 Mar;102(3):359–373. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-102-3-359. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. LaFontaine T. P., DiLorenzo T. M., Frensch P. A., Stucky-Ropp R. C., Bargman E. P., McDonald D. G. Aerobic exercise and mood. A brief review, 1985-1990. Sports Med. 1992 Mar;13(3):160–170. doi: 10.2165/00007256-199213030-00002. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Morris J. N., Clayton D. G., Everitt M. G., Semmence A. M., Burgess E. H. Exercise in leisure time: coronary attack and death rates. Br Heart J. 1990 Jun;63(6):325–334. doi: 10.1136/hrt.63.6.325. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Patten S. B. Propranolol and depression: evidence from the antihypertensive trials. Can J Psychiatry. 1990 Apr;35(3):257–259. doi: 10.1177/070674379003500312. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Roth D. L. Acute emotional and psychophysiological effects of aerobic exercise. Psychophysiology. 1989 Sep;26(5):593–602. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-8986.1989.tb00716.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Shaper A. G., Wannamethee G., Weatherall R. Physical activity and ischaemic heart disease in middle-aged British men. Br Heart J. 1991 Nov;66(5):384–394. doi: 10.1136/hrt.66.5.384. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Tesch P. A., Kaiser P. Effects of beta-adrenergic blockade on O2 uptake during submaximal and maximal exercise. J Appl Physiol Respir Environ Exerc Physiol. 1983 Apr;54(4):901–905. doi: 10.1152/jappl.1983.54.4.901. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Thiessen B. Q., Wallace S. M., Blackburn J. L., Wilson T. W., Bergman U. Increased prescribing of antidepressants subsequent to beta-blocker therapy. Arch Intern Med. 1990 Nov;150(11):2286–2290. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Wannamethee G., Shaper A. G. Physical activity and stroke in British middle aged men. BMJ. 1992 Mar 7;304(6827):597–601. doi: 10.1136/bmj.304.6827.597. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Williams P. T., Krauss R. M., Wood P. D., Lindgren F. T., Giotas C., Vranizan K. M. Lipoprotein subfractions of runners and sedentary men. Metabolism. 1986 Jan;35(1):45–52. doi: 10.1016/0026-0495(86)90094-6. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Wilmore J. H., Costill D. L. Adequacy of the Haldane transformation in the computation of exercise V O2 in man. J Appl Physiol. 1973 Jul;35(1):85–89. doi: 10.1152/jappl.1973.35.1.85. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Yudofsky S. C. Beta-blockers and depression. The clinician's dilemma. JAMA. 1992 Apr 1;267(13):1826–1827. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Zacharias F. J. Patient acceptability of propranolol and the occurence of side effects. Postgrad Med J. 1976;52 (Suppl 4):87–89. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from British Journal of Sports Medicine are provided here courtesy of BMJ Publishing Group

RESOURCES