Low levels of physical activity in patients with severe mental illness.

Background: Physical inactivity is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular diseases and Type 2 diabetes, both being highly prevalent in patients with severe mental illness. Though physical activity has become an important issue in psychiatric treatment and rehabilitation in the past decade, systematic evaluations of physical activity level in psychiatric populations could be more disseminated.

Aim: The primary aim of the study was to investigate the physical activity level of psychiatric patients in comparison with healthy controls.

Methods: Patients with severe mental illness (n =47) and a group of healthy controls (n =28) matched on sex and age reported their physical activity level using the Physical Activity Scale (PAS). PAS was administered as an interview in relation to patients and as a questionnaire in relation to healthy controls.

Results: Patients had statistically significant lower levels of physical activity compared with healthy controls (P <0.0001) and the level of physical activity among patients was hazardously low.

Conclusion: The study confirmed previous studies and clinical experience that patients with severe mental illness are physically inactive and emphasize the importance of physical activity in psychiatric treatment and rehabilitation. The PAS is an applicable and relevant method for evaluating physical activity levels in psychiatric patients.