Are physical activity and nutrition linked to personality disorders?
Individuals with personality disorders have a decreased life expectancy compared to the general population in part due to physical illnesses. Many hypothesis have been suggested to explain those physical illnesses such as hormone disbalance, medication, lack of physical activity, and unhealthy diet. Moreover, physical activity and nutrition (lifestyle) intervention have shown great results in improving quality of life and decreasing symptoms of individuals with affective and anxiety disorders. However, little is known about the relation between lifestyle, and personality disorders. The purpose of this review is to regroup the available information on this topic. In February 2021, we searched the literature using four databases and found twenty-one articles analyzing the relation between lifestyle and personality disorders. We found few studies analyzing the relation between lifestyle and personality disorders. Most studies used measures of lifestyle as control variables or did not use lifestyle variables at all. Moreover, the instruments used to measure lifestyle variables lacked precision at best. Two studies demonstrated a relation between early malnutrition and further development of personality disorders, but those results may be influenced by confounding variables and cannot indicate a clear link between nutrition and personality disorder. The lack of solid evidence we observed is surprising considering the multiple benefits individuals with personality disorders could get from a healthy lifestyle. More studies are needed to thoroughly analyze the impact of lifestyle on personality disorders and vice versa. Those studies need to use validated instruments to provide strong and valid results about this relation.