Effect of Exercise Training on the Mental and Physical Well-Being of Caregivers for Persons Living With Chronic Illnesses: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background: Increased demands associated with caregiving may lead to deleterious physical and mental health outcomes. Caregiving has proven to have consequences that affect both physical and psychological well-being. The purpose of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to assess the effects of exercise training on the mental and physical health of caregivers for persons living with chronic illnesses. Methods: A systematic review following the Prisma methodology was performed searching eight databases. Thirteen out of 1,632 screened studies were included for analysis. Results: The standardized mean difference was used as the effect size (ES) and was calculated such that a positive ES indicated efficacy of exercise training for improving health. Overall, the meta-analysis yielded a statistically significant and small-to-medium ES (overall ES = 0.30; 95% confidence interval = [0.08, 0.52]; p =.007). Conclusions: Our analysis supports exercise training to improve the mental and physical health of family caregivers of persons living with chronic illnesses.