Investigating the effects of changes in liver enzymes levels and depression in women addicted to methamphetamine after a period of aerobic exercise in the withdrawal phase

Nowadays, drug addiction is one of the most important problems, and the prevalence of drug use has increased in different strata of society, and the speed of this problem appears significantly in women. Exercise can be an option for prevention and potential treatment for drug addiction. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the effect of aerobic exercise on depression and liver enzymes in women addicted to methamphetamine.

In this semi-experimental study, 30 female addicts aged 25-40 were placed in two control and training groups. Exercises with an intensity of 50-75% of VO2max were performed during six weeks and three sessions per week. These exercises included intermittent running and low-impact exercises. The Goldberg Mental Health Questionnaire (GHQ) was used to check the subjects' depression. Blood samples were collected to measure the levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), 24 hours before the start of training and 48 hours after the last session. To analyze out-group changes, ANCOVA test and intra-group differences and to analyze questionnaire scores, paired T-test was used at the significance level of P≤0.05.

Aerobic exercise caused a significant decrease in ALT (P=0.04) compared to the control group, and no significant decrease was observed in the AST (P=0.52) and depression (P=0.95) values ​​compared to the control group.

Drug addiction is a serious risk for liver and depression, and sports activities can affect the responses of liver enzymes and depression in all people and inhibit them to an acceptable extent.