The effect of physical exercise on cognitive function in schizophrenia patients: A GRADE assessed systematic review and meta-analysis of controlled clinical trials


Author: Mohammadmahdi Lak1, Atefeh Jafarpour1, Mohammad Amin Shahrbaf2, Mohammadyasin Lak3, Behrooz Dolatshahi4

Affiliation: <sup>1</sup> Department of Clinical Psychology, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran; Psychosis Research Center, University of Social welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

<sup>2</sup> Faculty of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Electronic address: aminshahrbaf41@gmail.com.

<sup>3</sup> Department of Exercise Physiology, Sport Sciences Research Institute, Tehran, Iran.

<sup>4</sup> Department of Clinical Psychology, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Conference/Journal: Schizophr Res
Date published: 2024 Jul 15
Other:
 Volume ID: 271   ,  Pages: 81-90   ,  Special Notes: doi: 10.1016/j.schres.2024.07.020.   ,  Word Count: 233  
    Background:

Physical exercise has demonstrated the potential to improve cognitive impairment in schizophrenia, although the results are limited. The objective of this meta-analysis is to synthesize the existing evidence on the impact of physical exercise on cognitive functions in schizophrenia.



Methods:

A systematic search of PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Embase was conducted. The study included controlled clinical trials on patients with schizophrenia that received physical exercise as the intervention for improving cognition. A meta-analysis was conducted using a random-effects model, and the outcomes were reported using the standardized mean difference (SMD) and a 95 % confidence interval (95 % CI).



Results:

A total of 22 articles, including 1066 patients (565 in the intervention group and 501 in the control group), were included in the final analysis. Physical exercises significantly improved global cognition (SMD: 0.73, 95 % CI (0.46-1.00), P < 0.001), and aerobic exercise was found to have a more significant effect than resistance and mindfulness exercise (SMD: 0.76, 95 % CI (0.45-1.07), P < 0.001). The speed of processing [SMD: 0.88, 95 % CI (0.37-1.38), P = 0.001], attention [SMD: 0.61, 95 % CI (0.20-1.02), P = 0.004], and visual learning memory [SMD: 1.42, 95 % CI (0.14-2.71), P = 0.03] demonstrated significant improvement after physical exercise, while no significant effects were observed on working memory, verbal learning memory, reasoning and problem-solving, and social cognition.



Conclusions:

Exercise can improve overall cognitive function in people with Schizophrenia. However, it is unclear whether this improvement is significant in specific cognitive domains.



Keywords: Aerobic exercise; Cognition; Psychosis; Resistance exercise; Training.



PMID: 39013348 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2024.07.020