Health Effects of an Individualized Lifestyle Intervention for People with Psychotic Disorders in Psychiatric Outpatient Services: A Two Year Follow-up

Abstract

People with psychotic disorders experience to a great extent avoidable physical illnesses and early mortality. The aim of the study was to investigate the potential effects for this group of participating in a lifestyle intervention. A multi-component nurse-led lifestyle intervention using quasi-experimental design was performed. Changes in biomedical and clinical measurements, self-reported health, symptoms of illness and health behavior were investigated. Multilevel modeling was used to statistically test differences in changes over time. Statistically significant changes were found in physical activity, HbA1c and waist circumference. A lifestyle intervention for people with severe mental illness can be beneficial for increasing physical activity.

Author contribution

The manuscript was drafted by the first author and critical revisions for significant intellectual content were made by all the authors in its completion.

Acknowledgments

The authors are most grateful to the participants for taking part in the study. We would also like to express our appreciation to Professor Gunnar Johansson for his contribution to the design phase of the research project.

Authorship declaration

All of the authors have contributed to this study in terms of its design, participated in the analysis and interpretation of the results, and are responsible for the content and writing of the paper. The first author was responsible for the data collection.

Authorship statement

All authors meet the criteria according to the latest guidelines of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors and are in agreement with this manuscript.

Declaration of interest

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.

Disclosure statement

The authors confirm that this article content has no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Regional Council for Medical Health Care Research, County of Halland, Sweden and the Regional Council for Medical Health Care Research, County of Kronoberg, Sweden.