System Maintenance Notice

Please note that maintenance work is scheduled between 4 AM and 5 AM - CET. During this time, you may experience reduced performance. Thanks for your patience.

Publications

Journal Article Review Epublish 78 citations

PubMed: 30622486 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2018.00690

Effects of Aerobic Exercise on Metabolic Syndrome, Cardiorespiratory Fitness, and Symptoms in Schizophrenia Include Decreased Mortality.

Front Psychiatry 9:690

Authors: Andrea Schmitt, Isabel Maurus, Moritz J Rossner, Astrid Röh, Moritz Lembeck, Martina von Wilmsdorff, Shun Takahashi, Boris Rauchmann, Daniel Keeser, Alkomiet Hasan, Berend Malchow, Peter Falkai

Affiliations

  • Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany.
  • Laboratory of Neuroscience (LIM27), Institute of Psychiatry, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
  • Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical Faculty, Heinrich-Heine-University, Düsseldorf, Germany.
  • Department of Neuropsychiatry, Wakayama Medical University, Wakayama, Japan.
  • Department of Radiology, University Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany.
  • Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Jena, Jena, Germany.

Abstract

Schizophrenia is a severe psychiatric disorder with a lifetime prevalence of about 1%. People with schizophrenia have a 4-fold higher prevalence of metabolic syndrome than the general population, mainly because of antipsychotic treatment but perhaps also because of decreased physical activity. Metabolic syndrome is a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases, and the risk of these diseases is 2- to 3-fold higher in schizophrenia patients than in the general population. The suicide risk is also higher in schizophrenia, partly as a result of depression, positive, and cognitive symptoms of the disease. The higher suicide rate and higher rate of cardiac mortality, a consequence of the increased prevalance of cardiovascular diseases, contribute to the reduced life expectancy, which is up to 20 years lower than in the general population. Regular physical activity, especially in combination with psychosocial and dietary interventions, can improve parameters of the metabolic syndrome and cardiorespiratory fitness. Furthermore, aerobic exercise has been shown to improve cognitive deficits; total symptom severity, including positive and negative symptoms; depression; quality of life; and global functioning. High-intensity interval endurance training is a feasible and effective way to improve cardiorespiratory fitness and metabolic parameters and has been established as such in somatic disorders. It may have more beneficial effects on the metabolic state than more moderate and continuous endurance training methods, but to date it has not been investigated in schizophrenia patients in controlled, randomized trials. This review discusses physical training methods to improve cardiorespiratory fitness and reduce metabolic syndrome risk factors and symptoms in schizophrenia patients. The results of studies and future high-quality clinical trials are expected to lead to the development of an evidence-based physical training program for patients that includes practical recommendations, such as the optimal length and type of aerobic exercise programs and the ideal combination of exercise, psychoeducation, and individual weight management sessions.

MeSH

Depression, Exercise, Mortality, Endurance Training, Cardiorespiratory Fitness, Cardiovascular Diseases, Signs And Symptoms, Schizophrenia, Prevalence, Risk Factors, Metabolic Syndrome, Cognition, Suicide

Cited by