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Exercise Capacity and Quality of Life in Patients with Schizophrenia

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Abstract

The aim of this study was to resolve the relationship between physical capacity (PC) and quality of life (Qol) in schizophrenic patients and healthy controls. 31 patients (PG: 18 male, 13 female) and a control group (CG) of 50 healthy subjects (15 male, 35 female) were involved. PC was assessed as peak oxygen uptake [VO2peak, (ml (min kgKG)−1)] and power output expressed as watts per kilogram (W kg−1). Qol was assessed using the SF-36 questionnaire. Patients with schizophrenia showed reduced VO2peak (male: PG 29 ± 5 vs. CG 44 ± 10; female: PG 21 ± 4 vs. CG 30 ± 8) and power output (male: PG 2.04 ± 0.47 vs. CG 3.43 ± 0.70; female PG 1.40 ± 0.28 vs. CG 2.43 ± 0.52). Scales of the SF-36 questionnaire were lower in the PG. While in the CG correlations were found between PC and several subscales of Qol, this was not the case in the PG. The restricted PC seen in the PG showed no relation to their subjectively assessed worsened Qol, which would indicate that schizophrenic patients evaluate limitations arising from this differently than healthy control subjects.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Mr Kück, who provided the data necessary for our analysis.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Sports Medicine, Hannover Medical School, Carl-Neuberg-Str. 1, 30625, Hannover, Germany

    Arno Kerling, Uwe Tegtbur & Lena Grams

  2. Department of Psychiatry, Social Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Hannover Medical School, Carl-Neuberg-Str. 1, 30625, Hannover, Germany

    Marc Ziegenbein, Dirk Robert Heinze & Marcel Sieberer

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  1. Arno Kerling
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  2. Uwe Tegtbur
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Correspondence to Arno Kerling.

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Kerling, A., Tegtbur, U., Ziegenbein, M. et al. Exercise Capacity and Quality of Life in Patients with Schizophrenia. Psychiatr Q 84, 417–427 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11126-013-9256-4

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