Physical fitness in psychiatric patients admitted to a residential treatment

Background Despite exercise has been seen as a cost-effective intervention to increase both physical and psychological conditions and quality of life in people with mental health problems (Faulkner & Biddle, 2002; USDHHS, 2008), there are increasing evidences that people suffering from psychiatric diseases adopt usually more sedentary behaviors and have less strenuous form of physical activity compared with the general population (Faulkner & Taylor, 2005; Probst & Carraro, 2012). The aim of this cross-sectional study was to explore physical activity habits and fitness conditions in a group of patients consecutively admitted during a period of two months to a residential multi-dimensional treatment for psychiatric disorders. Materials and method Participants were 120 people with a psychiatric diagnosis according to the DSM-IV (men = 44; women = 76; mean age = 46.9, SD ± 11.1 years; mean BMI = 26.8, SD ± 6.1 kg/m2). Eight were diagnosed with psychotic disorders. The group was representative of the population seeking care for mental health problems in residential clinics. Participants filled in the IPAQ (International Physical Activity Questionnaire) and participated to a test battery to evaluate walking capacity and upper and lower limbs strength. The 6-minute walking test (6-MWT), the hand-grip test (HG) and the counter-movement-jump test (CMJ) were administered. Measures were collected during the first three days of hospitalization, before patients started with specific group-based exercise programs. Results were compared with data from general population and with those collected in a psychiatric clinic in Belgium. Results When considering the IPAQ scores categories, the 61.7% of participants reported low level of physical activity when they were at home, 26.7% moderate level and 11.7% high level, with no significant differences by gender. Significant differences by gender resulted in the 6-MWT (p < .01), in the HG test (p < .001) and in the CMJ (p < .001), with men scoring higher than women in all the tests. No significant differences in the fitness tests results were found by IPAQ categories. Significant correlations of the BMI with the 6-MWT (r = -.31, p = .001), the HG (r = -.49, p < .001) and the CMJ (r = -.30, p = .001) tests were found. Discussion Gender differences reflect a common tendency in the general population, but results from 6-MWT, HG and CMJ tests were below the average data reported for general population (Eurofit, 2008; Vancampfort, Carraro et al., in press). Moreover, BMI data underline that overweight and obesity represent a serious problem for psychiatric patients. Results confirmed literature directions, highlighting that people suffering from mental diseases result unfit compared with the general population.