The Effect of Resistance-Endurance Training on Anxiety, Depression, and Levels of Testosterone and Cortisol Hormones During the Maintenance Chemotherapy Phase in Children with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

Introduction: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of resistance-endurance training (RET) on anxiety, depression, and the ratio of testosterone and cortisol hormones in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) during the maintenance chemotherapy phase. Material & Methods: This clinical trial study was design with pre and post-test. The statistical population included children with ALL referred to 17th Shahrivar education, research & remedial center Hospital in Rasht city during the maintenance chemotherapy period. From these patients, 30 volunteer children were selected and randomly divided into control (CG, n=15) and experimental group (EG, n=10). Testosterone and cortisol levels were determined using blood samples test, and anxiety and depression were obtained the Spence Children's Anxiety Scale (1997) and the Children's Depression Inventory (Kovacs, 1992) questionnaires, respectively. The EG performed RET for 12 weeks (three 45-minute sessions per week) under the supervision of a trainer at Hospital, and other days, both groups were asked to perform at least twice a week, 30 minutes of walking or cycling with stretching exercises daily. Data were analyzed using ANCOVA and paired t-test in SPSS software version 27. Results: The results showed that resistance-endurance exercises have a significant effect on reducing anxiety and depression (p < 0.05), but there is no significant effect on the testosterone to cortisol ratio (p > 0.05). Conclusion: RET can be considered as an effective complementary intervention to improve the psychological and physical aspects of children with ALL.