Study	Reason for exclusion
Abascal 2008	Did not have to have depression to enter trial
Akandere 2011	Did not have to have depression to enter trial
Annesi 2010	subgroup analysis from a trial in people with obesity
Arcos‐Carmona 2011	Did not have to have depression to enter trial
Armstrong 2003	Postnatal depression
Armstrong 2004	Postnatal depression
Asbury 2009	Did not have to have depression to enter trial
Attia 2012	Not RCT for exercise in depression
Aylin 2009	Did not have to have depression to enter trial
Badger 2007	Did not have to have depression to enter trial
Baker 2006	Did not have to have depression to enter trial
Bartholomew 2005	Single bout of exercise
Beffert 1993	Trial involving adolescents
Berke 2007	Did not have to have depression to enter trial
Berlin 2003	Duration of exercise was only 4 days
Biddle 1989	Non‐systematic review
Blumenthal 2012b	Did not have to have depression to enter trial
Bodin 2004	Single bout of either martial arts or stationary bike
Bosch 2009	Did not have to have depression to enter trial
Bosscher 1993	Comparing different types of exercise with no non‐exercising control group
Bowden 2012	Not exercise according to ACSM; all arms received an intervention
Boyll 1986	College students, did not have to have depression
Brittle 2009	Did not have to have depression to enter trial
Bromby 2010	Non‐randomised study
Broocks 1997	Non‐systematic review
Brown 1992	Trial involving adolescents with diagnoses of dysthymia and conduct disorder
Burbach 1997	Non‐systematic review
Burton 2009	Did not have to have depression to enter trial and multimodal intervention
Carney 1987	Participants were those undergoing haemodialysis and did not have to have depression to be included
Chalder 2012	Intervention not exercise; multimodal intervention including motivational interviewing, life coaching, support
Chan 2011	Intervention is Dejian mind‐body intervention, not exercise.
Chen 2009	Did not have to have depression to enter trial and intervention was yoga
Chou 2004	Exercise intervention was Tai Chi
Chow 2012	Exercise intervention was Qigong
Christensen 2012	Did not have to have a depression to enter trial
Ciocon 2003	Published in abstract form only, intervention appeared not to be exercise according to ACSM definition, and no further information available from the authors
Clegg 2011	Did not have to have depression to enter trial
Courneya 2007	Did not have to have depression to enter trial
Dalton 1980	Trial in a "wheelchair bound population" with diverse aetiologies
Demiralp 2011	Did not have to have depression to enter trial
Deslandes 2010	Not randomized; participants chose their intervention
DeVaney 1991	A trial of reducing exercise in those exercising more than 6 hours per week
DiLorenzo 1999	People with depression were excluded
Eby 1985	Trial of exercise in students who did not have to have depression to enter trial
Elavsky 2007	Did not have to have depression to enter trial
Emery 1990a	Participants did not have to have depression
Emery 1990b	Participants did not have to have depression
Ersek 2008	Did not have to have depression to enter trial
Fitzsimmons 2001	Not exercise (the participant was placed in wheelchair adapted for connection to the front of a bicycle, the carer pedaled and steered the bicycle)
Fox 2007	Did not have to have depression to enter trial
Gary 2007	Did not have to have depression to enter trial
Ghroubi 2009	Did not have to have depression to enter trial
Gottlieb 2009	Did not have to have depression to enter trial
Gusi 2008	Did not all have to have depression to enter trial
Gustafsson 2009	Single bout of exercise with no non‐exercising control group
Gutierrez 2012	Did not have to have depression to enter trial
Haffmans 2006	Did not have to have depression to enter trial (mixed population of people with affective disorders)
Hannaford 1988	General mental health patients with no separation of those with depression
Haugen 2007	Did not have to have depression to enter trial
Hedayati 2012	Not a trial
Hembree 2000	Participants were ageing female population residing in a retirement home environment who did not have diagnosis of depression to enter the trial
Herrera 1994	Participants did not have to have depression to enter the trial
Hughes 1986	Effect of exercise on mood in people free from psychopathology
Hughes 2009	Outline trial involving adolescents
Immink 2011	Yoga as intervention
Jacobsen 2012	Participants did not have to have depression to enter the trial
Johansson 2011	Did not have to have depression to enter trial; intervention Qigong
Karlsson 2007	Did not have to have depression to enter trial
Kerr 2008	Did not have to have depression to enter trial
Kerse 2010	Did not all have diagnosis of depression to enter trial
Kim 2004	Effect of exercise on mental distress in healthy participants
Knapen 2003	Non‐psychotic psychiatric patients with no separation of those with depression
Knapen 2006	Did not have to have depression to enter trial (mixed depression and/or anxiety and/or personality disorders)
Kubesh 2003	Outcome was executive function; Mood was measured using a subjective mental state scale. People with depression and some controls underwent neuropyschological testing prior to, or after exercise. Participants were randomly allocated to 2 doses of exercise. Thus, people with depression were not randomly allocated to exercise or control
Kulcu 2007	Did not have to have depression to enter trial
Kupecz 2001	Participants were veterans and did not have diagnosis of depression to enter the trial
Labbe 1988	Comparison of exercise with exercise and instructions about how to improve compliance to exercise
Lacombe 1988	Three types of exercise, no non‐exercising control
Lai 2006	Trial in stroke patients. Did not have to have depression to be eligible
Latimer 2004	Did not have to have depression to enter trial
Lautenschlager 2008	Did not have to have depression to enter trial
Lavretsky 2011	Control is health education, an active intervention
Legrand 2009	Comparing 2 exercise regimens (of walking intensity) with no non‐exercising control group
Leibold 2010	Qualitative analysis
Leppämäki 2002	Effects of exercise on symptoms of mental distress in healthy participants
Levendoglu 2004	Did not have to have depression to enter trial
Lever‐van Milligen 2012	Did not have to have depression to be included in trial
Levinger 2011	Did not have to have depression to enter trial
Lin 2007	Did not have to have depression to enter trial
Littbrand 2011	Did not have to have depression; control group undertake activity as intervention
Lolak 2008	Did not have to have depression to enter the trial
Machado 2007	Did not have to have depression to enter trial
MacMahon 1988	Trial involving adolescents
Mailey 2010	Participants were having mental health counselling, but there is no statement that they had to have depression to enter the study
Martin 2009	Did not have to have depression to enter trial
Martinsen 1988a	Non‐systematic review
Martinsen 1988b	RCT (block randomisation with respect to sex) but compared different types of exercise without including a non‐exercising control group.
Martinsen 1989c	Non‐systematic review
Martinsen 1993	Non‐systematic review
Matthews 2011	Educational intervention and stretching exercises in control; did not have to be depressed to enter trial
McClure 2008	intervention included a combination of interventions including a pedometer, Step Up program workbook, and a series of counselling calls from a study counsellor
Midtgaard 2011	Did not have to have depression to enter trial
Milani 2007	Retrospective evaluation of patients with depressive symptoms who participated in cardiac rehabilitation programme post major cardiac event
Morey 2003	Older sedentary adults who did not have a diagnosis of depression to enter the trial
Motl 2004	Older adults who did not have to be depressed to be included in the trial
Mudge 2008	Did not have to have depression to enter trial
Munro 1997	Cost‐effectiveness analysis of the likely public health benefits of purchasing exercise for over 65s
Mutrie 2007	Did not have to have depression to enter trial
NCT00416221	Study not randomised
NCT00546221	Comparing 2 different exercise interventions with no non‐exercising control arm
NCT00964054	Trial in adolescents
NCT01152086	Comparing 2 exercise regimens (of hiking programme) with no non‐exercising control group, in participants with chronic suicidality, not depression
Neidig 1998	Participants had HIV infection and did not have diagnosis of depression to enter trial
Netz 1994	General mental health patients with no separation of those with depression
Neuberger 2007	Did not have to have depression to enter trial
Nguyen 2001	Trial in people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease who did not have to have depression to enter trial
O'Neil 2011	Multimodal intervention ‐ telephone based lifestyle advice as well as exercise
Oeland 2010	Combination of people with depression and/or anxiety disorders
Oretzky 2006	Exercise intervention was yoga
Ouzouni 2009	Did not have to have depression to enter trial
Pakkala 2008	Did not have to have depression to enter trial
Palmer 2005	Participants were recovering from substance abuse
Passmore 2006	Aerobic exercise versus aerobic and resistance exercise; no non‐exercising control
Peacock 2006	The methodology fulfilled criteria but the study was not completed due to staff sickness
Pelham 1993	General mental health patients with no separation of those with depression
Penninx 2002	Retrospective subgroup analysis of patients who participated in a randomised trial of exercise for knee osteoarthritis who also had depression
Penttinen 2011	A study in survivors of breast cancer, not depression
Perna 2010	A study in breast cancer, not depression
Perri 1984	No outcome measure of depression. This must have been excluded by Debbie Lawlor.
Piette 2011	Does not fulfill ACSM criteria for exercise; intervention largely psychological
Raglin 1990	Non‐systematic review
Rhodes 1980	Not randomised, participants not depressed
Robledo Colonia 2012	Did not have to have depression to enter trial
Rofey 2008	Trial involving adolescents
Roshan 2011	Trial in adolescents
Roth 1987	No outcome measure of depression. This must have been excluded by Debbie Lawlor
Ruunsunen 2012	Did not have to have depression to enter trial; intervention multimodal
Salminen 2005	Coronary heart disease patients with no separation of those with depressive symptoms Intervention described by authors as health advocacy, counselling and activation programme
Salmon 2001	Non‐systematic review
Sarsan 2006	Did not have to have depression to enter trial
Schwarz 2012	Unable to get access to full text of study; attempts made to contact authors were unsuccessful
Sexton 1989	Comparing different types of exercise with no non‐exercising group
Silveira 2010	Unable to assess if randomized; attempts made to contact authors unsuccessful, assumed to be non‐random
Sims 2006	Did not all have diagnosis of depression to enter trial
Skrinar 2005	DSM‐IV or psychotic disorders; no separation of those with depression
Smith 2008	Did not have to have depression to enter trial
Sneider 2008	intervention was combined diet and exercise
Songoygard 2012	Did not have to have depression to be included in trial
Stein 1992	Not described as randomised. Did not have to be depressed to participate
Stern 1983	Trial in patients with myocardial infarction who did not have to be depressed to enter trial
Strömbeck 2007	Did not have to have depression to enter trial
Sung 2009	Did not have to have depression to enter trial
Tapps 2009	Did not have to have depression to enter trial
Taylor 1986	Trial in patients with myocardial infarction (no diagnosis of depression to enter trial)
Tenorio 1986	Trial in subclinical depression
Thomson 2010	Did not have to have depression to enter the trial
Tomas‐Carus 2008	Did not have to have depression to enter trial
TREAD 2003	Ongoing trial comparing 2 intensities of exercise
Trivedi 2011	No true control group; both arms of trial receive exercise
Tsang 2003	Participants had chronic physical disease not depression
Tsang 2006	Exercise intervention was Qigong
Underwood 2013	Did not have to have depression to enter trial
Van de Vliet 2003	Single study design
Van der Merwe 2004	Intervention was a manual‐based therapy programme not exercise
Vickers 2009	Intervention was not exercise (exercise counselling)
Weinstein 2007	Did not have to have depression to enter trial
Weiss 1989	Not randomised controlled trial
White 2007	Did not have to have depression to enter trial
Whitham 2011	Trial in bipolar affective disorder
Wieman 1980	Jogging versus racket ball so no non‐exercising control
Wilbur 2009	Did not have to have depression to enter trial
Williams 1992	Aerobic versus low‐intensity exercise. No control group
Wipfli 2008	Did not have to have depression to enter trial
Wipfli 2011	Participants did not have to be depressed to enter trial; control arm had intervention of yoga and stretching