Psychiatric News (2/20) reports research indicates that patients with schizophrenia “who participate in a 12-week aerobic exercise program may continue to experience cognitive benefits months after the program ends.” For the study, investigators randomized 40 “participants with schizophrenia and other schizoaffective disorders aged 20 to 65” to “treatment as usual, which consisted of meetings with a psychiatrist, medication, case management, and rehabilitation programs over a 12-week period” or to “a 12-week aerobic exercise program in addition to receiving treatment as usual.” A year after the study ended, researchers found that “compared with the group that received treatment as usual only, those who also participated in aerobic exercise classes ‘showed significant, sustained improvements in several cognitive domains [including working memory, verbal fluency, attention, and executive function].’” The findings were published online ahead of print in the April issue of Psychiatric Research.
Related Links:
— “Cognitive Benefits of Exercise in Patients With Schizophrenia Sustained Over One Year, Study Shows, Psychiatric News, February 20, 2020