This study aims to discuss evidence for the efficacy of aerobic exercise in reducing drug addiction and improving the physical and mental health of drug addicts. We systematically searched several online databases as of the end of September 2022, including PubMed, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Scopus, Science Direct, CNKI, VIP, CBM, and Wanfang. All articles were identified, screened and included according to the inclusion or exclusion criteria. The Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions was used as a criterion for assessing the methodological quality of included studies. Random and fixed effects models were used for the analysis of standard mean differences (SMD) or mean differences (MD) with their 95% confidence intervals (CI). A total of 27 studies involving 2022 drug addicts were finally included in the analysis. The results of the meta-analysis showed that aerobic exercise could improve the physical fitness [body fat percentage: MD = -0.74, 95%CI (-1.40, -0.08), vital capacity: MD = 213.79, 95%CI (46.28, 381.29), muscle force: MD = 1.21, 95%CI (0.34, 2.08), flexibility: MD = 4.61, 95%CI (2.98, 6.25), balance: MD = 9.95, 95%CI (6.29, 13.62)], regulate the systolic blood pressure: MD = -4.38, 95%CI (-7.08, -1.68), diastolic blood pressure: MD = -2.66, 95% CI (-3.82, -1.51), beats per minute: MD =-1.92, 95%CI (-3.19, -0.65); emotional state [anxiety: MD = -4.56, 95% CI (-5.67, -3.45), depression: MD = -3.28, 95%CI (-5.16, -1.39), drug craving: SMD= -1.68,95% CI(-2.56, -0.80)], and promote the mental health [anxiety: MD = -0.22, 95%CI (-0.33, -0.11), obsessive-compulsive: MD = -0.26, 95%CI (-0.50, -0.03), somatization: MD = -0.21, 95%CI (-0.27, -0.14), depression: MD = -0.21, 95%CI (-0.28, -0.15), psychoticcism: MD = -0.12, 95%CI (-0.18, -0.06), phobic anxiety: MD = -0.11, 95%CI (-0.16, -0.07), paranoid ideation: MD = -0.09, 95%CI (-0.15, -0.02), interpersonal sensitivity: MD = -0.16, 95%CI (-0.22, -0.10), hostility: MD = -0.12, 95%CI (-0.18, -0.05)], with statistically significant differences(p < 0.05)] of drug addicts. Thus, aerobic exercise could effectively improve the physical fitness, emotional state and mental health of drug addicts, and reduce their drug addiction. For clinical practitioners and researchers, this study could provide more reliable evidence for addiction treatment.
Keywords: aerobic exercise; drug addicts; emotional state; mental health; meta-analysis; physical fitness.