Psychiatric In-Patients Are More Likely to Meet Recommended Levels of Health-Enhancing Physical Activity If They Engage in Exercise and Sport Therapy Programs

Abstract

Background: People with mental disorders engage in sedentary behaviors more often than their healthy counterparts. In Switzerland, nearly all psychiatric hospitals offer structured exercise and sport therapy as part of their standard therapeutic treatment. However, little is known about the degree to which psychiatric patients make use of these treatment offers. The aim of this study is to examine, in a sample of psychiatric in-patients (a) how many participate in the structured exercise and sport therapy programs offered by the clinic, (b) how many engage in exercise and sport activities on an individual basis, and (c) how many meet recommended levels of health-enhancing physical activity during their stay at the clinic. Furthermore, we examine whether those who engage in exercise and sport activities are more likely to meet internationally accepted physical activity recommendations.Methods: 107 psychiatric in-patients (49% women, Mage = 39.9 years) were recruited at three psychiatric clinics in the German-speaking part of Switzerland. All participants were engaged in treatment and received usual care. Based on accelerometer data, participants were classified as either meeting or not meeting physical activity recommendations (≥150 min of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity per week). Participation in structured and individually performed exercise and sport activities was assessed with the Simple Physical Activity Questionnaire.Results: In total, 57% of all patients met physical activity recommendations. 55% participated in structured exercise and sport therapy activities, whereas only 22% of all patients engaged in exercise and sport activities independently. Psychiatric patients were significantly more likely to meet recommended levels of health-enhancing physical activity if they engaged in at least 60 min per week of structured exercise and sport therapy or in at least 30 min of individually performed exercise and sport activity.Conclusions: Given that prolonged immobilization and sedentary behavior have harmful effects on patients' physical and mental well-being, promoting exercise and sport activities is an important endeavor in psychiatric care. Clinics currently succeed in involving between 50 and 60% of all patients in sufficient physical activity. While this is encouraging, more systematic efforts are needed to ensure that all patients get enough physical activity.

Effects of Aerobic Exercise on Cortisol Stress Reactivity in Response to the Trier Social Stress Test in Inpatients with Major Depressive Disorders: A Randomized Controlled Trial

“…In the present study, only 18% of the participants reached recommended MVPA standards. Given this background, it is encouraging that sport and exercise training are increasingly used in Swiss psychiatric clinics as an additional treatment approach [98], and that many MDD patients are sufficiently physically active during their stay at the clinics [99]. Nevertheless, more systematic efforts are needed to increase patients' lifestyle physical activity sustainably [100,101], because the beneficial effects of exercise and sport therapy may dissipate if the training is stopped after discharge from the clinic [102,103].…”

Can irisin become a biomarker of physical activity, or another metabolic risk assessment parameter, in psychiatric care patients?

“…Interestingly, we found no significant difference in amount of exercise nor sitting/lying time between genders and in-and out-patients. Ehrbar et al [40] reported that 50-60% of in-patients in Switzerland show sufficient physical activity. This percentage, however, is achieved largely due to structured exercise or sport therapy conducted daily.…”

Major Depressive Syndrome (MDS) and its Association with Time of Residence among Spanish Speaking Au-Pairs Living in Germany

“…First, selection bias may have occurred due to the usage of a convenience sample. For instance, participants already suffering from mental disorders may have been more likely to participate in this study than healthy participants [44]. Second, it was not possible to calculate the response rate, making it hard to evaluate the representativeness of our study population [45].…”