The Effect of Physical Activity Intervention on Panic and Anxiety Symptoms in Children, Adolescents and Early Adulthoods: A Meta-Analysis

Physical activity is believed to promote mental health. However, research has not yet reached a consensus on whether physical activity declines panic and anxiety symptoms in children, adolescents, and early adulthoods. The current chapter carried out a meta-analysis to investigate the association between physical activity and panic/anxiety based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) 2020 guidelines. Search is conducted on 22nd April 2022, which follow databases: MEDLINE (Ovid), EMBASE, Web of Science, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and SPORTDiscus. Fifteen articles (N = 994) were identified and included, where four studies reported measurement in panic symptoms and fourteen studies reported measurement in anxiety symptoms. The meta-analysis among the pooled effect sizes demonstrated a small significant effect of physical activity intervention reducing panic disorder (d = −. 45, SE = .12, Z = −3.65, p < .001) and a middle effect reducing anxiety (d = −.51, SE = .15, Z = −3.38, p < .001) in children, adolescents and early adulthoods. Age or gender ratio was not found to be significant in predicting the effect sizes. More evidence is required to produce a solid conclusion.