1. Number screened; number still in trial and exercise intervention at end of trial.
| Trial ID | Screened | Randomised | Allocated exercise | Completed trial | Completed comparator group, e.g. control, other treatment (as a proportion of those allocated) | Completed exercise (as a proportion of those allocated) |
| Blumenthal 1999 | 604 underwent telephone screening | 156 | 55 | 133 | 41/48 (medication) | 44/55 (exercise plus medication) 39/53 (exercise alone) |
| Blumenthal 2007 | 457 | 202 | 51 (supervised), 53 home‐based | 183 | 42/49 (placebo) 45/49 (sertraline) |
45/51 (supervised), 51/53 home‐based |
| Blumenthal 2012b | 1680 enquired about the study | 101 | 37 | 95 | 23/24 completed 'placebo' and 36/40 completed the medication | 36/37 completed the exercise |
| Brenes 2007 | Not reported | 37 | 14 | Not reported | Not reported | Not reported |
| Bonnet 2005 | Not reported | 11 | 5 | 7 | 4/6 | 3/5 |
| Chu 2008 | 104 responded to adverts | 54 | 36 | 38 | 12/18 | 26/36 (both exercise arms combined) 15/18 in the high‐intensity arm |
| Dunn 2005 | 1664 assessed for eligibility | 80 | 17 | 45 | 9/13 | 11/17 (public health dose 3 times per week) |
| Doyne 1987 | 285 responded to adverts | 57 | Not reported | 40 completed treatment or control | 27 (denominator not known) | 13 (denominator not known) |
| Epstein 1986 | 250 telephone inquiries received | 33 | 7 | Not reported | Not reported | 7 |
| Fetsch 1979 | Not reported | 21 | 10 | 16 | 8/11 | 8/10 |
| Foley 2008 | 215 responded to adverts | 23 | 10 | 13 | 5/13 | 8/10 |
| Fremont 1987 | 72 initially expressed an interest | 61 | 21 | 49 | 31/40 | 18/21 |
| Gary 2010 | 982 referred, 242 had heart failure, 137 had a BDI > 10 and 74 eligible and consented | 74 | 20 | 68/74 completed post‐intervention assessments and 62 completed follow‐up assessments | usual care 15/17 | exercise only: 20/20 |
| Greist 1979 | Not reported | 28 | 10 | 22 | 15/18 | 8/10 |
| Hemat‐Far 2012 | 350 screened | 20 | 10 | 20 | not stated | not stated |
| Hess‐Homeier 1981 | Not reported | 17 | 5 | Not reported | Not reported | Not reported |
| Hoffman 2010 | 253 screened, 58 ineligible | 84 | 42 | 76 | 39/42 (2 were excluded by the trialists and 1 did not attend follow‐up) | 37/42 of exercise group provided data for analysis |
| Klein 1985 | 209 responded to an advertisement | 74 | 27 | 42 | 11/23 (meditation) 16/24 (group therapy) |
15/27 |
| Knubben 2007 | Not reported | 39 (note data on only 38 reported) | 20 | 35 | 16/18 | 19/20 |
| Krogh 2009 | 390 referred | 165 | 110 | 137 | 42/55 | 95/110 (both exercise arms combined) 47/55 (strength) 48/55 (aerobic) |
| Martinsen 1985 | Not reported | 43 | 24 | 37 | 17/19 | 20/24 |
| Mather 2002 | 1185 referred or screened | 86 | 43 | 86 | 42/43 | 43/43 |
| McCann 1984 | 250 completed BDI, 60 contacted | 47 | 16 | 43 | 14/15 completed placebo 14/16 completed 'no treatment' |
15/16 |
| McNeil 1991 | 82 | 30 | 10 | 30 | 10/10 (waiting list) 10/10 (social contact) |
10/10 |
| Mota‐Pereira 2011 | 150 | 33 | 22 | 29/33 | 10/11 | 19/22 |
| Mutrie 1988 | 36 | 24 | 9 | 24 | 7/7 | 9/9 |
| Nabkasorn 2005 | 266 volunteers screened | 59 | 28 | 49 | 28/31 | 21/28 |
| Orth 1979 | 17 | 11 | 3 | 7 | 2/2 | 3/3 |
| Pilu 2007 | Not reported | 30 | 10 | 30 | 20/20 | 10/10 |
| Pinchasov 2000 | Not reported | 18 | 9 | Not reported | Not reported | Not reported |
| Reuter 1984 | Not reported | Not reported | 9 | Not reported | Not reported | 9 |
| Schuch 2011 | 14/40 invited patients were not interested in participating | 26 | 15 | "no patient withdrew from intervention" | "no patient withdrew from intervention" | "no patient withdrew from intervention" |
| Setaro 1985 | 211 responses to advertisement | 180 | 30 | 150 | Not reported | 25/30 |
| Shahidi 2011 | 70 older depressed women chosen from 500 members of a district using the geriatric depression scale | 70 | 23 | 60/70 | 20/24 | 20/23 |
| Sims 2009 | 1550 invitations, 233 responded | 45 | 23 | 43 | 22/22 | 21/23 |
| Singh 1997 | Letters sent to 2953 people, 884 replied | 32 | 17 | 32 | 15/15 | 17/17 |
| Singh 2005 | 451 | 60 | 20 | 54 | 19/20 (GP standard care) | 18/20 (high‐intensity training) |
| Veale 1992 | Not reported | 83 | 48 | 57 | 29/35 | 36/48 |
| Williams 2008 | 96 in parent study | 43 | 33 | 34 | 8/10 | 26/33 (both exercise groups combined) 15/16 exercise 11/17 walking |
BDI: Beck Depression Inventory