The effect of aerobic exercise on the quality of life of male patients who suffer from chronic schizophrenia: Double-blind, randomized control trial

Abstract

Background: Chronic schizophrenia is a long-term and severe mental disorder. Aerobic exercises can reduce the symptoms of mental disorders, particularly schizophrenia, through improving the patient’s quality of life (QoL). Objectives: The current study aimed to investigate the effect of aerobic exercise on the QoL of male schizophrenics hospitalized at the Razi Psychiatric Center in Tabriz from 2015 to 2016. Methods: In this randomized controlled trial, 68 patients who met the inclusion criteria were randomly allocated into groups of intervention (n = 34) and control (n = 34). The intervention group has benefited from the aerobic exercise 24 sessions for 8 weeks, 12 hours in total. The control group simultaneously enjoyed the fresh air. The Schizophrenic Quality of Life Scale (SQLS) was completed before and after intervention in both groups. The data were analyzed in SPSS20 using the t-test and chi-squared test. Results: The mean age of participants was 37.82 ± 7.14 years. No significant differences were found between the demographic characteristics of the two groups. This study showed that no significant difference was found in the quality of life in both groups before intervention (P ≤ 0.37), but there was a significant difference after the intervention (P = 0.001). Aerobic exercises reduce patient’s mental disorders and promote their QoL (P < 0.05). Conclusions: Regular aerobic exercise can reduce the symptoms of male patients with schizophrenics, which in turn improves all dimensions of QoL.