A systematic review and meta-analysis of exercise interventions in schizophrenia patients

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Abstract

Background

The typically poor outcomes of schizophrenia could be improved through interventions that reduce cardiometabolic risk, negative symptoms and cognitive deficits; aspects of the illness which often go untreated. The present review and meta-analysis aimed to establish the effectiveness of exercise for improving both physical and mental health outcomes in schizophrenia patients.

Method

We conducted a systematic literature search to identify all studies that examined the physical or mental effects of exercise interventions in non-affective psychotic disorders. Of 1581 references, 20 eligible studies were identified. Data on study design, sample characteristics, outcomes and feasibility were extracted from all studies and systematically reviewed. Meta-analyses were also conducted on the physical and mental health outcomes of randomized controlled trials.

Results

Exercise interventions had no significant effect on body mass index, but can improve physical fitness and other cardiometabolic risk factors. Psychiatric symptoms were significantly reduced by interventions using around 90 min of moderate-to-vigorous exercise per week (standardized mean difference: 0.72, 95% confidence interval −1.14 to −0.29). This amount of exercise was also reported to significantly improve functioning, co-morbid disorders and neurocognition.

Conclusions

Interventions that implement a sufficient dose of exercise, in supervised or group settings, can be feasible and effective interventions for schizophrenia.

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Most cited references 51

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What are the functional consequences of neurocognitive deficits in schizophrenia?

M. Green (1996)

It has been well established that schizophrenic patients have neurocognitive deficits, but it is not known how these deficits influence the daily lives of patients. The goal of this review was to determine which, if any, neurocognitive deficits restrict the functioning of schizophrenic patients in the outside world. The author reviewed studies that have evaluated neurocognitive measures as predictors and correlates of functional outcome for schizophrenic patients. The review included 1) studies that have prospectively evaluated specific aspects of neurocognition and community (e.g., social and vocational) functioning (six studies), 2) all known studies of neurocognitive correlates of social problem solving (five studies), and 3) all known studies of neurocognitive correlates and predictors of psychosocial skill acquisition (six studies). Despite wide variation among studies in the selection of neurocognitive measures, some consistencies emerged. The most consistent finding was that verbal memory was associated with all types of functional outcome. Vigilance was related to social problem solving and skill acquisition. Card sorting predicted community functioning but not social problem solving. Negative symptoms were associated with social problem solving but not skill acquisition. Notably, psychotic symptoms were not significantly associated with outcome measures in any of the studies reviewed. Verbal memory and vigilance appear to be necessary for adequate functional outcome. Deficiencies in these areas may prevent patients from attaining optimal adaptation and hence act as "neurocognitive rate-limiting factors." On the basis of this review of the literature, a series of hypotheses are offered for follow-up studies.

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Waist circumference and not body mass index explains obesity-related health risk.

Ian Janssen, Peter Katzmarzyk, Robert Ross (2004)

The addition of waist circumference (WC) to body mass index (BMI; in kg/m(2)) predicts a greater variance in health risk than does BMI alone; however, whether the reverse is true is not known. We evaluated whether BMI adds to the predictive power of WC in assessing obesity-related comorbidity. Subjects were 14 924 adult participants in the third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, grouped into categories of BMI and WC in accordance with the National Institutes of Health cutoffs. Odds ratios for hypertension, dyslipidemia, and the metabolic syndrome were compared for overweight and class I obese BMI categories and the normal-weight category before and after adjustment for WC. BMI and WC were also included in the same regression model as continuous variables for prediction of the metabolic disorders. With few exceptions, overweight and obese subjects were more likely to have hypertension, dyslipidemia, and the metabolic syndrome than were normal-weight subjects. After adjustment for WC category (normal or high), the odds of comorbidity, although attenuated, remained higher in overweight and obese subjects than in normal-weight subjects. However, after adjustment for WC as a continuous variable, the likelihood of hypertension, dyslipidemia, and the metabolic syndrome was similar in all groups. When WC and BMI were used as continuous variables in the same regression model, WC alone was a significant predictor of comorbidity. WC, and not BMI, explains obesity-related health risk. Thus, for a given WC value, overweight and obese persons and normal-weight persons have comparable health risks. However, when WC is dichotomized as normal or high, BMI remains a significant predictor of health risk.