The Efficacy of Intermittent Walking in Water on the Rate of MHPG sulfate and the severity of depression

Objective: Many studies evaluated the efficacy of exercise on some depression indices, but the effect of physical exercise in exhilarating milieu on urine 3-Methoxy-4-Hydroxyphenylglycol (MHPG) sulfate-the main metabolite of norepinephrine is not clear. The purpose of this research was to study the effect of a six-week intermittent walking in the water on 24-hour urine MHPG sulfate in depressed female teenagers.

Methods: Twenty-four high school female students with depression were divided randomly into case and control group. Pool walking exercise program was implemented 3 sessions weekly for 6 weeks and with a rate of 60-70% of the maximum heart rate. The control group didnít enter any exercise protocol and did not receive any other anti-depressant therapy. HPLC-fluorometric detection assay was used to measure 24-hour urine MHPG sulfate values. The data was analyzed with t-test and Piersonís correlation tests.

Results: Twenty hour urine MHPG sulfate increased from 1.93 (±0.59) to 4.66 (±0.85) micromole in case group (P ≤ 0.001), and in control group from 1.67 (±0.58) to 1.80 (±0.58) micromole. Increase of 24-hour urine MHPG sulfate and increasing of maximum oxygen consumption showed significant positive correlation (r = 0.65), and a significant negative correlation (r = 0.65) was observed between urine MHPG sulfate and Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (Ham-D) score.

Conclusion: Aerobics training in exhilarating environments shows desirable influence over reduction of depression. This reduction of depression is correlated with MHPG sulfate elevation.

Declaration of Interest: None.

Clinical Trial Registration: URL: #_> http://www.Irct.ir/Unique identifier: IRCT201104251457N8

Citation: Dabidy Roshan V, Pourasghar M, Mohammadian Z. The efficacy of intermittent walking in water on the rate of MHPG sulfate and the severity of depression.. Iran J Psychiatry Behav Sci 2011; 5(2): 26-31.