Physical activity as an intervention in severe mental illness

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Aaron A. Kandola ◽  
David P. J. Osborn
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Physical Activity ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Physical Health ◽  
Severe Mental Illness ◽  
Routine Practice ◽  
Physical And Mental Health ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Physical Health Problems ◽  
Health Complications

SUMMARY Physical activity is a modifiable risk factor for several physical and mental health conditions. It is well established that people with severe mental illness have increased risk of physical health complications, particularly cardiovascular disease. They are also more likely to be physically inactive, contributing to the elevated cardiovascular and metabolic risks, which are further compounded by antipsychotic medication use. Interventions involving physical activity are a relatively low risk and accessible way of reducing physical health problems and weight in people with severe mental illness. They also have wider benefits for mental health symptoms and quality of life. However, many barriers still exist to the widespread implementation of physical activity interventions in the treatment of severe mental illness. A more concerted effort is needed to facilitate their translation into routine practice and to increase adherence to activity interventions.

scholarly journals Attitudes to physical healthcare in severe mental illness; a patient and mental health clinician qualitative interview study

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph Butler ◽  
Simone de Cassan ◽  
Phil Turner ◽  
Belinda Lennox ◽  
Gail Hayward ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Physical Health ◽  
Severe Mental Illness ◽  
Health Monitoring ◽  
Resource Constraints ◽  
Healthcare Services ◽  
Physical And Mental Health ◽  
Healthcare Provision ◽  
Qualitative Interview Study

Abstract Background People with severe mental illness experience physical health significantly worse than the general population. Physical health monitoring is shared between primary care and secondary mental healthcare services, though there is debate whether mental health teams should provide more physical healthcare. The views of mental health clinicians and patients with mental illness towards physical healthcare provision are unclear. Aims To explore the attitudes of Community Mental Health Team (CMHT) clinicians and patients experiencing severe mental illness towards physical healthcare and its provision. Design and setting Qualitative study in a CMHT setting. Methods Interviews were carried out with CMHT clinicians and patients with severe mental illness. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews and analysed using thematic analysis. Results There were 14 patients and 15 clinicians recruited. Patients varied in their awareness of the association between physical and mental health, but were engaged in physical health monitoring. Clinicians were aware of the importance of physical healthcare but reported barriers to provision, including lack of training, resource constraints and uncertainty in their role. There was no consensus in either group regarding how physical healthcare should be provided, with diverse attitudes expressed for why CMHTs should and shouldn’t provide more physical healthcare. Conclusions Increasing physical healthcare provision from mental health teams requires healthcare-related barriers be addressed, but it remains unclear whether CMHT clinicians or patients believe this to be a solution.

Adherence to physical activity recommendations and physical and mental health risk in people with severe mental illness in Uganda

2018 ◽  
Vol 260 ◽  
pp. 236-240 ◽  
Author(s):  
Davy Vancampfort ◽  
Michel Probst ◽  
David Basangwa ◽  
Marc De Hert ◽  
Inez Myin-Germeys ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Physical Activity ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Health Risk ◽  
Severe Mental Illness ◽  
Physical And Mental Health ◽  
Physical Activity Recommendations ◽  
Activity Recommendations

The health service contact patterns of people with psychotic and non-psychotic forms of severe mental illness in New South Wales, Australia: A record-linkage study

2021 ◽  
pp. 000486742110314
Author(s):  
Rachael C Cvejic ◽  
Preeyaporn Srasuebkul ◽  
Adrian R Walker ◽  
Simone Reppermund ◽  
Julia M Lappin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Emergency Department ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Health Service ◽  
Confidence Interval ◽  
Physical Health ◽  
Severe Mental Illness ◽  
New South ◽  
Service Utilisation ◽  
South Wales

Objective: To describe and compare the health profiles and health service use of people hospitalised with severe mental illness, with and without psychotic symptoms. Methods: We conducted a historical cohort study using linked administrative datasets, including data on public hospital admissions, emergency department presentations and ambulatory mental health service contacts in New South Wales, Australia. The study cohort comprised 169,306 individuals aged 12 years and over who were hospitalised at least once with a mental health diagnosis between 1 July 2002 and 31 December 2014. Of these, 63,110 had a recorded psychotic illness and 106,196 did not. Outcome measures were rates of hospital, emergency department and mental health ambulatory service utilisation, analysed using Poisson regression. Results: People with psychotic illnesses had higher rates of hospital admission (adjusted incidence rate ratio (IRR) 1.26; 95% confidence interval [1.23, 1.30]), emergency department presentation (adjusted IRR 1.17; 95% confidence interval [1.13, 1.20]) and ambulatory mental health treatment days (adjusted IRR 2.90; 95% confidence interval [2.82, 2.98]) than people without psychotic illnesses. The higher rate of hospitalisation among people with psychotic illnesses was driven by mental health admissions; while people with psychosis had over twice the rate of mental health admissions, people with other severe mental illnesses without psychosis (e.g. mood/affective, anxiety and personality disorders) had higher rates of physical health admissions, including for circulatory, musculoskeletal, genitourinary and respiratory disorders. Factors that predicted greater health service utilisation included psychosis, intellectual disability, greater medical comorbidity and previous hospitalisation. Conclusion: Findings from this study support the need for (a) the development of processes to support the physical health of people with severe mental illness, including those without psychosis; (b) a focus in mental health policy and service provision on people with complex support needs, and (c) improved implementation and testing of integrated models of care to improve health outcomes for all people experiencing severe mental illness.

scholarly journals What Can We Obtain from Mental Health Care? The Dynamics of Physical and Mental Health

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (17) ◽  
pp. 3098
Author(s):  
Sung-Joo Yoon
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Mental Health Care ◽  
Physical Health ◽  
Health Condition ◽  
Physical And Mental Health ◽  
Additional Information ◽  
Mental Problems ◽  
Physical Health Problems ◽  
The Impact

This study analyzes the dynamic interaction of an individual’s physical and mental health using the German Socio-Economic Panel and the Cross-National Equivalent File of Germany. Its main objective is to find a way to reduce people’s health expenditure by examining the magnitude of the interdependence between physical and mental health. For the analysis, this study develops a dynamic correlated random effects model. We create two aggregate health measures (aggregate physical health and aggregate mental health) with four submeasures each, which provides a better understanding of changes in an individual’s health status by capturing additional information that cannot be analyzed at the aggregate level. There is clear evidence that the persistence of a mental health condition is less than that of a physical health condition. Moreover, the impact of previous mental health on current physical health is greater than that of previous physical health on current mental health. This suggests that individuals can reduce their expenditures on physical health problems by focusing on the treatment of mental problems when they first arise. Finally, the Government’s attention and support toward mental health care would lead to a reduction in health expenditures and eventually improve the sustainability of the nation’s health system.

Metabolic Syndrome Screening in People With Severe Mental Illness: Results From Two Spanish Community Mental Health Centers

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 162-171 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Fernández Guijarro ◽  
Carolina Miguel García ◽  
Edith Pomarol-Clotet ◽  
Elena Nunilón Egea López ◽  
Maria Dolors Burjales Martí ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Risk Factors ◽  
Metabolic Syndrome ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Community Mental Health ◽  
Physical Health ◽  
Severe Mental Illness ◽  
Health Centers ◽  
Community Mental Health Centers ◽  
Mental Health Centers

BACKGROUND: The excess of mortality in people with severe mental illness is due to unnatural causes such as accidents or suicides and natural causes such as metabolic syndrome. The presence of modifiable risk factors like tobacco consumption increases cardiovascular and metabolic risk. AIMS: The purpose of this study was to identify the prevalence of metabolic syndrome and other cardiovascular risk factors in people with severe mental illness. This study also aimed to identify the prevalence of patients receiving treatment for any metabolic syndrome risk factor. METHOD: A cross-sectional descriptive study was performed. A total of 125 participants from two community mental health centers in Spain were recruited. RESULTS: More than half of the participants (58.4%) were active smokers. The prevalence of metabolic syndrome was 60%. A total of 16.8% received previous treatment for hypertension, 17.6% for hypertriglyceridemia, and 11.2% for diabetes. No differences were found between centers (22.7% vs. 18.7%, p = .9). CONCLUSIONS: The findings underscore the importance of monitoring the physical health of patients on antipsychotic therapy. The identification and management of cardiovascular and metabolic risks factors is an essential part of nursing care for people with severe mental illness. Mental health nurses are ideally positioned to carry out this task by performing physical health screening, health education, and lifestyle interventions.

Social Dimensions of Mental Illness among Rural Elderly Populations

1988 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 169-190 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jon Hendricks ◽  
Howard B. Turner
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Physical Health ◽  
Elderly People ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Rural Elderly ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Elderly Persons ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Elderly Populations

Despite growing concern with rural elderly populations, little attention has focused on their mental health, ways it may correlate with physical health, or how rural mental health patterns compare to urban. Popular wisdom contends that elderly people in general, and rural elderly persons in particular, are at increased risk for mental illness. This article examines these questions. A review of available literature suggests that elderly people may be at only slightly greater risk of mental illness than the population at large, though there are some indications that rates of depression may be somewhat higher among the elderly population. Much of this same literature implies that objective environmental conditions play a significant role in the incidence of depression. Analysis of data gathered in a statewide random poll ( N = 743) indicates that while physical health tends to be poorer among rural populations, when health is held constant there is actually an inverse relationship between age and depression. Therefore, rural elderly persons are no more likely to be depressed than their urban counterparts despite harsher living conditions. Both conceptual and policy implications are discussed.

P-412 - Physical health problems of patients with severe mental illness

2012 ◽  
Vol 27 ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
B.Serván Rendón-Luna ◽  
M.D.Morón Nozaleda ◽  
M.Machín Vázquez-Illá ◽  
O.Bautista Garrido ◽  
M.de los Reyes Montoya ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Illness ◽  
Physical Health ◽  
Severe Mental Illness ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
Physical Health Problems

Physical health in schizophrenia: a challenge for antipsychotic therapy

2010 ◽  
Vol 25 (S2) ◽  
pp. S6-S11 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Heald
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Physical Health ◽  
Health Risks ◽  
Self Esteem ◽  
Psychotic Symptoms ◽  
Antipsychotic Therapy ◽  
Metabolic Monitoring ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Physical Health Problems

AbstractIn the management of schizophrenia, mental health outcomes are the principal focus of treatment. The objective is to control the psychotic symptoms while minimising negative features of the illness, to achieve an overall improvement in the societal functioning of patients. Physical health is also important because if it is compromised, many of the benefits of improved mental health will be offset. Compared with the general population, schizophrenia patients are at increased risk of weight gain, abdominal obesity, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and cardiovascular disease. These physical health problems can contribute to the decreased quality of life, lowered self-esteem and reduced life expectancy commonly reported in schizophrenia. For these reasons there is a pressing need to improve both the monitoring and the management of physical health in patients with schizophrenia as a part of their overall care. A consensus for metabolic monitoring of patients receiving treatment with antipsychotic drugs is available. However, the practicing clinician requires guidance about management of physical health in routine clinical practice. This should include recommendations for measurements that have strong predictive value about physical health risks yet are easy to make, and about the use of medications that have the least effect on physical health parameters. This article will review the gravity of the physical health risks facing schizophrenia patients.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document