Table 2.

Methods and Limitations of the included meta-analyses.

References	Included trials, sample size	Included population/inclusion criteria	Intervention	Rating Scales	Quality and possible moderators
Adamson et al. (50)	23 studies, N = 1.324 participants	1) Adults aged >18 years 2) Any diagnosed neurologic disorder (ad or dementia, migraine, ms, parkinson disease, spinal cord injury, and traumatic brain injury) Excluded: fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis	Aerobic exercise, resistance training, balance training, yoga, and others involving a combination of these exercises. No limits concerning frequency, intensity, or duration of the exercise intervention.	BDI, BDI-II, CES-D, CSDD, GDS, HAD, IDS-SR, MADRS, LPD, MDI, POMS	123/26 studies evaluated depression. 13 of the 26 studies Received a score >6 on the PEDro scale. 3 trials identified depression as primary endpoint.
Bergenthal et al. (46)	3 RCTs, N = 249	1) RCTs comparing an aerobic physical exercise intervention, intending to improve the oxygen system, in addition to standard care with standard care 2) Only for adults suffering from hematological malignancies.	Studies that evaluated aerobic exercise (such as moderate cycling, walking, Nordic walking, running, swimming and other related forms of sport) or aerobic exercise in addition to strength training were included. Studies that investigated the effect of training programs that were composed of yoga, tai chi chuan, qigong or similar types of exercise were excluded. Duration of the intervention between 3 and 12 weeks with 3–5 sessions per week.	NR	3/9 studies could be included in the meta-analysis for depression (secondary endpoint). Low quality of evidence.
Brown et al. (24)	37 RCTs, N = 2.929	1) RCT comparing an exercise intervention with a control group 2) Report of depression outcomes 3) Adults diagnosed with any type of cancer, regardless of stage of diagnosis or type or stage of treatment At baseline, the standardized metric of depressive symptoms was 34.2 and ranged from 3.49 to 81.5. 65% Breast Cancer, 5% Prostate cancer, 5% Leukemia, 5% Lymphoma, 20% diverse groups of cancer	Exercise interventions occurring in any setting, with or without supervision. Mean length of the exercise interventions was 13.2 weeks with an average of 3.0 sessions per week lasting 49.1 min/session.	CES-D, POMS, BDI, HAS, SAS	The mean PEDro score of the exercise interventions was 7.061 suggesting relatively high methodological quality.
Buffart et al. (25)	8 RCTs, N = 471	1) Design: RCT 2) Population: adults with any cancer diagnosis either during or post treatment 3) Intervention: yoga including physical postures (asanas) 4) Control group: non-exercise or wait-list 5) Outcome: physical and psychosocial outcomes Average age of the participants ranged from 44 to 63 years. 1 study with lymphoma patients, the rest with breast cancer patients.	All included a supervised yoga program with physical poses (yoga asanas), combined with breathing techniques (pranayama) and relaxation or meditation (savasana or dhanya). Median program duration was 7 weeks with a range of 6 weeks to 6 months. In general, the number of classes per week ranged from one to three, and home practice was encouraged in nine studies, supported by audio or videotapes. Session duration ranged from 30 to 120 min; three studies did not report the session duration.	HADS-D, BDI, CES-D, POMS	The median quality score was 67% (range: 22–89%). All but one study were of high quality. 8 of 16 studies evaluated depression.
Carayol et al. (17)	9 RCTs, N = 801	1) Participants were adult women diagnosed with breast cancer, 2) Presented a randomized, controlled experimental design 3) Included an intervention program involving physical activity (yoga-based interventions were included whereas relaxation-based were not) 4) Intervention program was scheduled during adjuvant cancer therapy (chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy), (v) assessed at least one psychological outcome among fatigue, anxiety, depression, and QoL 5) Provided pre and post-intervention data to calculate standardized mean differences(SMDs) The median age of included patients was 50.5 years old. All patients with breast cancer have been diagnosed with non-metastatic cancer and were undergoing adjuvant therapy, i.e., chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy during exercise intervention.	Exercise duration between 5 and 26 weeks, 2–6 sessions per week of 30–60 min. Interventions consisted of aerobic exercise and/or resistance training or Yoga.	CES-D, HADS-D, BDI, POMS	Regarding methodological quality, median score was 7, ranging from 2 to 9. 9/17 studies evaluated depression.
Chung et al. (38)	4 RCTs, N = 212	1) This review included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published in the English or Chinese language 2) participants aged >18 years diagnosed with end stage renal disease (ESRD) requiring maintenance hemodialysis (HD) as renal replacement therapy 3) participants undergoing HD for more than 3 months who received exercise training during HD sessions (intradialytic)	Exercise interventions included aerobic cycling alone, resistance training, cycling or resistance training and aerobic cycling combined with strength training or range of motion. Each exercise session lasted 10–90 min. The exercise program lasted between 8 and 48 weeks.	Zung Depression Scale, BDI	In over half of the studies, there was a low or unclear risk of detection bias. 4/17 studies evaluated depression.
Craft et al. (26)	14 RCTs, N = 1.371 participants	1) RCTs of adults diagnosed with cancer 2) Comparison of an exercise program with usual care 3) The exercise program was chronic in nature (i.e., at least 4 weeks in duration) 4) Reported depressive symptoms pre- and post-intervention 5) Utilized a depression inventory or a clinician interview to quantify depressive symptoms 6) published in English Average age of participants was 51.6 years. 9 (60%) breast cancer, 1 colorectal cancer, 1 lymphoma, 2 prostate cancer and 2 diverse groups of cancer	All studies included an aerobic exercise component, with several also including a strength training component.	CES-D, BDI, HADS, QOL	Only 1 trial identified depression as primary endpoint. 11 RCTs with PEDro “high” quality. Potential moderators: exercise location, Supervised and partially supervised exercise, exercise bout durations of >30 min.
Cramer et al. (19)	6 RCTs, N = 161	1) RCTs 2) Studies of adult (older than 18 years) patients with a history of breast cancer 3) Studies that compared yoga with no treatment or any active treatment 4) No restrictions were made regarding yoga tradition, length, frequency or duration of the program. Co-interventions were allowed. 5) Studies that assessed health-related quality of life or well-being and/or psychological health.	Yoga interventions were heterogeneous. Program length and intensity varied, ranging from daily interventions over 1 week to one intervention per week over 6 months.	CES-D, HADS, BDI	Generally, risk of selection bias was high. 6/10 studies evaluated depression.
Cramer et al. (18)	11 RCTs, N = 496 (7 RCTs yoga vs. No therapy) + N = 226 (4 RCTs, yoga vs. Psychosocial intervention)	1) RCT 2) Compared yoga interventions vs. no therapy or vs. any other active therapy in women with a diagnosis of non-metastatic or metastatic breast cancer 3) Assessed at least one of the primary outcomes on patient-reported instruments, including health-related quality of life, depression, anxiety, fatigue or sleep disturbances	Of the 24 included studies: the duration of yoga programs ranged from 2 weeks to 6 months, with a median duration of 8 weeks; the frequency of yoga interventions ranged from one to 10 (median: two) weekly yoga sessions of 20 to 120 (median: 67.5) min in length.	HADS, BDI, CES-D, POMS	11/24 studies evaluated depression.
Dalgas et al. (48)	12 RCTs, N = 476	1) RCT design 2) Enrollment of participants with definite MS according to the McDonald criteria 3) Evaluate an exercise intervention that was compared with either non-training controls, active controls or another exercise intervention 4) Inclusion of a primary validated measure of depressive symptoms available in English	resistance training, endurance training, combined training (i.e., resistance training + endurance training) or as other exercise modalities	BDI, MDI, IDS-SR, HADS, POMS, CES-D	Only one of the RCT studies applied depressive symptoms As the primary outcome. Average PEDro score was 5.6 ± 1.3 points.
Eng and Reime (52)	13 RCTs, N = 1.022	1) Confirmed diagnosis of stroke by medical records, imaging, or clinical examination 2) Adult patients over 18 years of age 3) Intervention and control group treatments clearly defined 4) Baseline and follow-up of at least 4 weeks available for depressive symptoms The time since stroke ranged from 30 days to 6 years and the patients' age ranged from 21 to 93 years.	Progressive resistance training, functional, aerobic exercises, treadmill exercises, Bobath exercises, individualized exercises with education, community-based rehabilitation services including physical therapy and occupational therapy. Eleven of the 13 studies had a frequency of at least two sessions per week for a minimal duration of 4 weeks. The length of the intervention ranged from 4 weeks to 12 weeks.	HAD, GDS, BDI, CES-D	PEDro scale ranged from three to eight.
		The mean baseline depressive symptoms of the study samples were below established thresholds for clinically relevant depressive symptoms in the majority of studies (12/13).
Ensari et al. (49)	13 RCTs, N = 477	1)Studies that compared exercise training vs. no-treatment control Reliable and valid measures of depressive symptoms (e.g., HADS, CES-D) as an outcome assessment pre/post intervention in patients with MS2) Only samples in 2 of the studies had mean scores above the threshold for moderate depressive symptomatology.	Aerobic and an-aerobic. 7 of the 13 studies had a frequency of at least 3 sessions per week.	BDI, IDS, MDI, HADS, CES-D, POMS	9 of the 13 studies received a score of 6 or higher on the PEDro scale. Exploratory analyses only identified depression symptom scale as a potential moderator variable (p = 0.04).
Fong et al. (27)	4 RCTs, N = 168 4 RCTs with different outcome measurements, N = 533	Adult patients (aged ≥18) Patients diagnosed with cancer3) Patients who had completed their main treatment for cancer but might be still undergoing hormonal treatment4) And assessed the effect of physical activity on health indicators $\frac{3}{4}$ included studies evaluated breast cancer, 1 endometrial cancer.	All 4 studies used aerobic exercise.	BDI, HADS, POMS	4/34 studies evaluated depression via BDI and were included in the meta-analysis. 2 studies used the HADS and 2 the POMS. No overall analysis was performed.
Furmaniak et al. (20)	5 RCTs, N = 674	1) RCTs of exercise training during adjuvant (including neoadjuvant) treatment (radiotherapy chemotherapy) for women with non-metastatic breast cancer 2) Exercise training during adjuvant (including neoadjuvant) treatment (radiotherapy, chemotherapy) for women with non-metastatic breast cancer. 3) Studies that assessed the effects of all forms of repeatedly performed aerobic or resistance exercise or both with program duration of at least 6 weeks	Aerobic or resistance training.	BDI, CES-D	Cochranes risk of bias tool. 1 study evaluated depression via HADS and was not included in the meta-analysis. 5/32 studies evaluated depression.
Gomes Neto et al. (39)	3 RCTs, N = 88	1) Studies that included hemodialysis patients randomized to two different intra-dialytic exercise training modalities or to a group of specific exercise modality and group of usual care without exercise training. 2) Studies that enrolled patients with cardiac or respiratory diseases were excluded	Combined aerobic and resistance training.	BDI	3/56 studies evaluated depression with the BDI.
Graven et al. (53)	54 RCTs, 10 with exercise and 2 for meta-analysis, N = 137	1) Patients with a primary diagnosis of cerebrovascular accident 2) Participants who were community-dwelling 3) RCTs 4) Trial outcomes that measured at least one of the domains of participation, the mood disorder of depression and HRQoL (using validated scales that are commonly applied) 5) Interventions conducted in the community setting by predominantly nursing or allied health practitioners 6) The availability of an English full text version	All the studies incorporated an experimental exercise regime that was of an intensity of two to three sessions per week over a 6–12-week duration (average 9.8 weeks).	CES-D, GDS-15	PEDro methodological rating of at least four points was an inclusion criterion.
Herring et al. (16)	14 RCTs, N = 624	1) English-language peer-reviewed publications 2) Adults aged >18 years with a formal diagnosis of MS 3) Randomized allocation to either an exercise intervention or a non-active control condition that lacked exercise training 4) A measure of depressive symptoms measured at baseline and at mid- and/or post-intervention The mean age was 44.0 years. The mean percentage of women was 75%. Mean reported disease duration was 9.8 years, and mean baseline Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) score was 3.4.	Aerobic, Resistance Aerobic+, Resistance+, Yoga Exercise training consisted of three sessions per week, 51 min per session, and 11 weeks in duration. Based on reported methods, PwMS were prescribed 122 (SD = 38) min of exercise per week. The mean exercise training adherence rate was 85%.	BDI, CES-D, HADS-D, IDS-SR, POMS-D, MDI	Mean PEDro score was 5.86. Depressive symptoms were not the primary outcome in any of the included trials. Langhorst et al. (41)	6 RCTs, N = 306	1) RCTs 2) Studies with meditative movement therapies 3) Patients diagnosed with FMS on recognized criteria, of any age 4) Studies should assess at least one key domain of FMS (pain, sleep, fatigue), health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and depression	Tai Chi and/or Yoga, and/or Qi Gong. In the whole review (7 studies), the number of sessions was 12 (8–24). The total treatment time was 18 (6–48) h.	BDI, CES-D, CDI	Publication bias was assessed by Egger's intercept test and Begg's rank correlation test at the significance level p < 0.05. 6/7 studies evaluated depression.
Liang et al. (43)	3 RCTs/quasi-RCTs, N = 121	1) Adults diagnosed by a rheumatologist as having AS (ankylosing spondylitis) 2) Participants > 18 years 3) Quasi-randomized and randomized controlled trials (RCT), in which at least one of the groups received home-based exercise therapy	Home-based exercise program including muscle relaxation, flexibility exercises for cervical, thoracic and lumbar spine, range of motion exercises of coxofemoral joints, stretching exercises for the major muscle groups, muscular strengthening, straight posture, and respiratory exercises.	BDI	3/6 trials investigated depression. The research team performed an analysis of all included studies (6), using a funnel plot to determine publication bias in all the literature. The outcome from the funnel shows asymmetry, thereby indicating that publication bias possibly exists in the included studies.
Lin et al. (29)	8 RCTs, N = 519	1) Randomized control trial design 2) Examination of yoga or MBSR (mindfulness based stress reduction) on psychological health, quality of life, and physical health of cancer patients 6 studies assessed the effects of yoga for patients with breast cancer, 1 for patients with lymphoma, and 1 for mixed cancer population.	The style of yoga used and the duration and frequency of the yoga sessions varied among all studies. Intervention duration ranged from 6 to 24 weeks.	HADS, CES-D, POMS SCL-90-R	8/10 studies evaluated depressive symptoms. Of the 10 studies, the PEDro scores ranged from 4 to 7.
Lin et al. (28)	2 RCTs, N = 39	1) Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published in a peer-reviewed journal 2) Patients of any age, diagnosed with any type of gynecological cancer (i.e., cancers of the vulva, vagina, cervix, uterus, ovary, fallopian tube and placenta), at any stage of their illness 3) studies including an intervention with any type of exercise component (i.e., aerobic training, muscle strengthening, stretching exercises or education regarding exercise) The mean age of the participants across all studies (7) ranged from 52.1 to 63.9 years.	The length of interventions ranged from 5 days to 6 months. Participants were coached to meet the physical activity guidelines of at least 30 min of physical activity on 5 days per week.	BDI, BDI-II	The mean PEDro score was 5.3 (standard deviation 1.5) out of 10 for the whole analysis (7 studies). 2 of the 7 studies assessed depressive symptoms.
Liu et al. (35)	2 RCTs/CCTs, N = 84	1) Patients with CHD (coronary heart disease), regardless of disease stage and severity. Eligible CHD diagnoses included myocardial infarction (MI), angina or a revascularization procedure (coronary artery bypass grafting or percutaneous coronary intervention) 2) Thai Chi Intervention, no limits were imposed on type, duration, frequency, length or intensity of the Tai Chi intervention. 3) RCTs, non-randomized controlled clinical trials (CCTs) 4) Articles published in English or Chinese	Thai Chi groups, duration of 3 months and 2–5 sessions per week.	SDS	2/11 studies evaluated depressive symptoms. The two studies were rated as ‘moderate’ regarding global quality.
Newby et al. (31)	4 RCTs, N = 466	1) RCTs 2) Comparison of any intervention to treat depression in patients with prostate cancer 3) Entry criteria for depressive scores did not have to be severe enough to be considered a case of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual major depressive disorder (clinical depression)	For most studies, the intervention was 6–9 weeks. Precise exercise regimen was not stated.	CES-D, HADS, GDS, BDI	4/9 studies evaluated depression. Overall quality was fair (3 studies) to poor (1 study). O'Brien et al. (47)	2 RCTs, N = 65	1) RCTs with human participants who were HIV positive 2) adults 18 years of age or older 3) aerobic exercise intervention performed at least three times/week, at least 20 min per session for at least 4 weeks 4) a randomized controlled comparison group	Aerobic exercise was defined as a regimen containing aerobic interventions performed at least three times per week for at least 4 weeks. Aerobic interventions included but were not limited to walking, jogging, cycling, rowing, stair stepping, and swimming. Interventions may or may not have been supervised.	POMS	2/10 studies evaluated depression via POMS and were included in the meta-analysis.
O'Dwyer et al. (44)	3 RCTs, N = 75	1) Quasi-randomized and randomized controlled trials in SLE (systemic lupus erythematodes) comparing at least one exercise group to controls 2) Studies evaluating adults diagnosed with SLE by established criteria 3) studies with participants under 18 years of age were excluded 4) studies comparing exercise to no intervention controls, studies comparing different exercise or physical activity protocols (e.g., aerobic exercise vs. strengthening exercise), and studies comparing an exercise-based intervention to another treatment approach (e.g., relaxation)	Exercise-based interventions comprised one or more of the following components: range of motion (stretching), resistance training, or aerobic exercise. 3–6 weeks of duration and 2–3 sessions/week.	BDI	Overall risk of bias of these studies was unclear.
Patsou et al. (21)	14 RCTs, N = 1.701	1) Written in English 2) Published in 2011 and beyond 3) Participants were adult women diagnosed with breast cancer based on mammography and biopsy 4) Included an intervention program involving physical activity 5) Randomized controlled trial (experimental) design 5) Results for depression outcomes The median age of the included breast cancer survivors was 52 years. In all studies, women had been diagnosed with 0–IIIc stage breast cancer.	Aerobic, resistance, aerobic and resistance, yoga exercises The length of the interventions ranged from 6 to 52 weeks. The reported exercise frequency was 2–3 sessions per week for the majority of the studies, while duration varied from 30 to 90 min per session and weekly exercise duration ranged from 90 to 270 min. All studies had over 80% up to as high as 99% retention rates, while adherence rates, when reported, varied from 70 to 92.7%.	HADS, CES-D, BDI-II, POMS	The mean PEDro score of the studies was 6.1 ± 2, indicating High quality. Depression was the sole primary outcome measure in only one study, while in three more studies, depression was included either as primary or not as psychosocial/psychological outcome.
Perry et al. (54)	2 RCTs/7 non-RCTs, N = 188	1) Participants aged 18 or older and have sustained a TBI (traumatic brain injury) 2) Interventions must utilize physical exercise 3) Depression-related outcome measure	Eight out of the nine studies had an aerobic intervention including treadmill, exercise bike and swimming, one study used a walking intervention. The intervention length was between 8 and 12 weeks, apart from one study which had just two sessions, 1 week apart	BDI, HAM-D, POMS, BRUMS, CES-D, HADS	Majority of included trials was non-randomized, no PEDro scores provided.
Samartzis et al. (36)	9 RCTs (+ 4 RCTs with SSRI comparison), N = 3.425	1) An experimental CHF patient group, and a CHF patient group as controls that received standard care 2) Patients were randomly allocated 3) Both groups were evaluated for depression before and after the intervention, by using psychometric instruments 4) data were published	Home and hospital exercise training interventions.	HAM-D,BDI-II, BDI, MADRS, GDS, MAACL	No PEDro scores provided. A trend for superiority of hospital- based exercise training for depression was noted.
Singh et al. (22)	14 RCTs, N = 1005	1) RCTs in which at least 50% of the sample was diagnosed with Stage II+ breast cancer 2) Exercise trials 3) Trials were eligible regardless of the level of supervision provided, mode of intervention delivery, intervention duration or intensity. Median recruitment rate was 56% (1–96%), 15 withdrawal rate was 10% (0–41%) and adherence rate was 82% (44–99%).	Aerobic exercise, resistance exercise, combined,	POMS, HADS, CES-D, Greene Climacteric Scale, BDI, Functional Living Index of Cancer	14/61 trials evaluated depression. 38/61 trials were rated as “high quality” according to the PEDro score.
Song et al. (51)	4 RCTs, N = 148	1) RCTs and prospective non-randomized controlled and observational studies published in English 2) Parkinson's disease was the primary disease and Tai Chi and/or Qigong were the primary interventions were included. 3) RCTs	3 studies used Thai Chi, 1 study used Qigong. The duration of interventions ranged from 7 to 16 weeks. Individual intervention sessions ranged from 45 to 90 min, and the frequency of classes varied between 1 and 3 times per week.	BDI, GDS, MADRS	5/21 studies (4 RCTs) evaluated depression.
Song et al. (40)	8 RCTs, N = 368	1) RCTs 2) patients with ESRD (end-stage renal disease) undergoing HD (hemodialysis) for more than 3 months 3) 18 years and older 4) exercise training compared to routine HD treatment or exercise training with pharmacological treatment compared to the same pharmacological treatment	Aerobic exercise, resistance training, flexibility training, Yoga, Pilates. The duration of one intervention and the total interventions ranged from 15 min to 90 min and 4 weeks to 48 weeks (12 months).	BDI, HADS, Zung Depression Scale	8/15 trials evaluated depression. Cochrane risk of bias tool was applied.
Sosa-Reina et al. (42)	11 RCTs, N = 641	1) RCTs comparing types of therapeutic exercise or comparing therapeutic exercise with a control group receiving another intervention or standard care 2) Studies with participants older than 18 years, diagnosed with FMS (fibromyalgia syndrome) in the absence of significant comorbidity 3) Studies using aerobic, strengthening, or stretching exercises or a combination of these were considered. Studies of exercise interventions based on activities such as yoga or tai-chi were excluded. Almost all the participants were women (97.90%). The average age of participants was 42.36 years.	Aerobic exercise, combined exercise, muscle strengthening, flexibility, stretching.	BDI, HAD, and VAS	11/14 studies evaluated depression. It was concluded that all the studies included in this meta-analysis exceeded minimum thresholds for methodological and scientific quality.
Tu et al. (37)	16 RCTs, N = 3.226	1) RCTs 2) Included patients (>18 years old) with either systolic HF or HF with a preserved EF of any etiology in the control and in the intervention group (diagnosis based on LVEF or clinical findings) 3) Patients received exercise training either alone or as part of a comprehensive cardiac rehabilitation program (i.e., included components such as psychological intervention or health education) 4) compared with a standard medical treatment or education placebo control group 5) reported the effect of exercise training on depression or depressive Symptoms The median age of the populations ranged between 54 and 81 years.	Walking, bicycle, treadmill, games, jogging, calisthenics, Tai Chi Chuan, and strength training. Frequency 2–7 days/week; duration 20–60 min per session; intensity 40–80% of maximum heart rate, 60–70% of maximal heart rate reserve, or maximum oxygen uptake; and overall length of the programme 6 weeks to 1.5 years.	BDI, CES-D, GDS, HADS, HAM-D, HDCDS	Jadad scale between 2 and 7. Antidepressant effect was not influenced by age, duration of the exercise intervention, or exercise setting, but rather by LVEF and the exercise mode; HF patients with LVEFs of < 50%, as well as aerobic exercise intervention, demonstrated consistent benefits on depressive symptoms.
Vashistha et al. (32)	3 RCTs, N = NR	1) RCTs published in English 2) The population of interest was men with clinically diagnosed prostate cancer and participation in a prescribed exercise program 3) Acceptable exercise interventions included Pilates, yoga, mind-body stress reduction, tai chi, walking alone or in combination with cycling, cycling, resistance training, strength training, qigong, aerobic exercise, anaerobic exercise, and/or stretching. 4) Included studies had to contain one of the following primary outcome measures: cancer-specific QOL, overall QOL, fatigue, depression, and/or anxiety. No limit was placed on the duration of exercise intervention or length of follow-up.	Walking, stretching, and light resistance exercises, aerobic exercise, QiGong. Study duration varied from 4 weeks to 6 months (whole study, N = 13).	BSI-18	5/13 studies evaluated depression, 3 used the BSI-18 and were enrolled in the meta-analysis. Using the Cochrane Collaboration tool for risk of bias assessment for all 13 RCTs included in our systematic review, we found that 10 studies had high risk of bias, two had unclear risk of bias, and one had low risk of bias. Wang et al. (34)	4 RCTs, N = 245	1) Published RCTs 2) Patients with CVD including ischemic heart disease or coronary artery disease, cerebrovascular disease, diseases of the aorta and arteries, and peripheral vascular disease 3) Articles that compared an intervention group (e.g., tai chi, qigong, baduanjin) with a control group that performed other exercises (egg, strength exercises), that received usual care, or that did not undergo any intervention.	Thai Chi, aerobic exercise. Duration of the intervention between 5 and 12 weeks.	HAMD, POMS	4/35 studies evaluated depression. A low risk of incomplete outcome bias was reported in 31 articles (88.5%), whereas a low risk of selective reporting bias was reported in most articles (n = 28, 73.6%).
Wayne et al. (30)	7 RCTs, N = 783	1) Randomized controlled trials (RCTs), prospective non-randomized controlled studies, and prospective non-controlled studies published in English 2) cancer was the primary disease and Tai Chi and/or Qigong were the primary interventions Most studies evaluated breast cancer patients. Other cancers included ovary, lung, gastrointestinal and colorectal cancer.	Intervention duration between 6 and 12 weeks.	POMS, CES-D, BDI, HADS, BSI-18, DASS-21	7/15 studies evaluated depression. Quality of RCTs indicated an overall low to high risk of bias For the 7 RCTs.
Ying et al. (33)	2 RCTs, N = 124	1) All participants were adult men and the diagnoses of prostate cancer were based on pathology reports and staging studies 2) The participants all underwent ADT (androgen deprivation therapy) for at least 3 months 3) Lifestyle interventions contain dietary advices, aerobic and resistance exercises, and physical activity 4) The patients had minimum lifestyle intervention duration of 6 weeks Exclusion criteria: Men with diabetes, uncontrolled hypertension, cardiovascular disease and unstable bony metastases.	Aerobic and resistance exercise. Duration between 12 and 24 weeks.	NR	Jadad scores between 3 and 5. 2/11 RCTs evaluated depression.
Zhu et al. (23)	8 RCTs, N = 751	1) English language 2) Adopted a randomized controlled trial design, comparing exercise intervention group with control group (usual care, maintain current activity level, or waitlist) 3) Included adults diagnosed with breast cancer 4) Evaluated the effects of exercise in breast cancer patients.	The main types of exercise interventions reported in this meta-analysis were aerobic, resistance, and stretching exercises. Duration in the whole study (n = 33) between 5 weeks and 6 months.	NR	8/33 studies evaluated depression. Delphi criteria were used for assessment of quality, the studies were heterogenous in the level of quality.
Zhou et al. (45)	3 RCTs, N = 128	1) participants with a diagnosis of AL [either acute myelocytic leukemia (AML) or acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL)] undergoing induction therapy or post-remission therapy 2) Intervention: an exercise component, regardless of the type of exercise 3) Comparison intervention: standard care with no exercise intervention or instruction 4) Outcome measures including depression 5) Study design: a randomized controlled trial (RCT) or a quasi-experimental design trial	Aerobic exercise, mixed-modality exercise. Duration was reported for 2 of the studies with 3–12 weeks.	HADS	3/9 studies evaluated depression. Risk of bias was heterogenous.

BDI, Beck Depression Inventory; CDI, Children Depression Inventory; CES-D, Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale; DASS, Depression Anxiety Stress Scales; GDS, Geriatric Depression Scale); HAD, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale; HAM-D, Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression; SCL-90, Symptom Checklist-90; TAS, Toronto Attitude Scale; POMS, Profile of Mood States; SAS, Symptom Assessment Scale; CSDD, Cornell Scale for Depression in Dementia; IDS-SR, Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology Self Report; LPD, Levine-Pilowsky Depression; MADRS, Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale; MDI, Major Depression Inventory; POMS, Profile of Mood States; QOL, Quality of Life; DASS, Depression Anxiety Stress Scales; TAS, Toronto Attitude Scale; MAACL, Multiple Affect Adjective Checklist; HDCDS, Hare-Davis Cardiac Depression Scale; SDS, Self-rating Depression Scale; BSI-18, Brief Symptom Inventory; BRUMS, Brunel Mood Scale; NR, not reported.