Lower limb skeletal muscle force-generating capacity, a key component of functional performance, is reduced in patients with schizophrenia and should be recognized as an important aspect of the patients’ poor physical health. This impairment can be reversed to a level comparable with healthy control subjects following 24 maximal strength training sessions over a 12-week period (Nygård et al. 2020).
About the project
Exercise training therapy in patients with mental disorders is an umbrella consisting of a number of projects, such as the “Long-term Exercise Training Therapy Versus Usual Care in Patients With Schizophrenia (LEXUS)”, “Preventing Multimorbidity in Severe Mental Disorders With a Multidisciplinary Approach”, “A Cross-Sectional Study of Physical Capacity in Patients With Affective Disorders”, and “Digital Follow-Up of Exercise Training in Outpatients With Mental Disorders”.
The overarching theme and aim of the project is to provide knowledge on effective interventions to prevent somatic comorbidity related to physical inactivity in people with severe mental disorders. The project incorporates several PhD and post doc projects, as well as a close collaboration between researchers and clinical practice.
Patients with severe mental disorders typically display disabling symptoms and cognitive deficits which limit motivation, drive, social- and occupational performance, quality of life and self-efficacy. Severe mental disorders are also accompanied by a high risk of dying from cardiovascular disease. Exploratory trials suggest that exercise improves cognitive functioning, symptoms, and quality of life, and reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease in these patient groups. However, due to the various debilitating consequences of these illnesses, participation in regular exercise is challenging. In these studies, we test if patients with severe mental disorders have increased cardiovascular disease risk, reduced physical function, and performance in activities of daily living; can participate in both short- and long-term exercise training therapy; and whether long-term supervised exercise therapy is more beneficial than today's usual care.
Highlighted findings
- Aerobic interval training delivered with adherence support in collaborative care of outpatients with schizophrenia was successful in improving and maintaining aerobic performance in a one-year follow-up.
- Lower limb skeletal muscle force-generating capacity, a key component of functional performance, is reduced in patients with schizophrenia and should be recognized as an important aspect of the patients’ poor physical health. This impairment can be reversed to a level comparable with healthy control subjects following 24 maximal strength training sessions over a 12-week period (Nygård et al. 2020).
Current status
The ongoing projects focus on how the beneficial health gains from aerobic interval training and maximal strength training can be provided more widely for the patient populations, and how digital technology may assist interventions in delivering these interventions to improve aerobic and force-generating capacity.
Publications
Nygård M, Brobakken MF, Lydersen S, Güzey IC, Morken G, Heggelund J, Wang E. Strength training integrated in long term collaborative care of patients with schizophrenia. Schizophr Res. 2023 Oct;260:67-75. doi: 10.1016/j.schres.2023.08.017. Epub 2023 Aug 23. PMID: 37625226.
Brobakken MF, Nygård M, Wang E. Physical Health Impairment and Exercise as Medicine in Severe Mental Disorders: A Narrative Review. Sports Med Open. 2022 Sep 15;8(1):115. doi: 10.1186/s40798-022-00490-3. PMID: 36107334; PMCID: PMC9478018.
Nygård M, Brobakken MF, Taylor JL, Reitan SK, Güzey IC, Morken G, Lydersen S, Vedul-Kjelsås E, Wang E, Heggelund J. Strength training restores force-generating capacity in patients with schizophrenia. Scand J Med Sci Sports. 2021 Mar;31(3):665-678. doi: 10.1111/sms.13863. Epub 2020 Nov 16. PMID: 33113211.
Brobakken MF, Nygård M, Güzey IC, Morken G, Reitan SK, Heggelund J, Vedul-Kjelsaas E, Wang E. One-year aerobic interval training in outpatients with schizophrenia: A randomized controlled trial. Scand J Med Sci Sports. 2020 Dec;30(12):2420-2436. doi: 10.1111/sms.13808. Epub 2020 Sep 5. PMID: 33108030.
Brobakken MF, Nygård M, Taylor JL, Güzey IC, Morken G, Reitan SK, Heggelund J, Vedul-Kjelsaas E, Wang E. A comprehensive cardiovascular disease risk profile in patients with schizophrenia. Scand J Med Sci Sports. 2019 Apr;29(4):575-585. doi: 10.1111/sms.13371. Epub 2019 Jan 7. PMID: 30618171.
Brobakken MF, Nygård M, Güzey IC, Morken G, Reitan SK, Heggelund J, Wang E, Vedul-Kjelsaas E. Aerobic interval training in standard treatment of out-patients with schizophrenia: a randomized controlled trial. Acta Psychiatr Scand. 2019 Dec;140(6):498-507. doi: 10.1111/acps.13105. Epub 2019 Oct 16. PMID: 31565796.
Nygård M, Brobakken MF, Roel RB, Taylor JL, Reitan SK, Güzey IC, Morken G, Vedul-Kjelsås E, Wang E, Heggelund J. Patients with schizophrenia have impaired muscle force-generating capacity and functional performance. Scand J Med Sci Sports. 2019 Dec;29(12):1968-1979. doi: 10.1111/sms.13526. Epub 2019 Aug 18. PMID: 31359490.