Early Intervention in Psychosis: Effectiveness and Implementation of a Combined Exercise and Health Behavior...

Area of Science:

• Psychiatry
• Public Health
• Exercise Science

Background:

• Young people with psychosis face higher risks of obesity, cardiovascular disease, and mortality compared to peers.
• These risks are exacerbated by antipsychotic medications and unhealthy lifestyle choices.
• Early Intervention in Psychosis (EIP) services offer a critical setting to address these physical health disparities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop, implement, and evaluate a combined 12-week exercise and health behavior intervention for young people in routine EIP services.
• To assess the intervention's impact on physical health risk factors and health behaviors.
• To understand participant experiences and inform service integration.

Main Methods:

• A 12-week program with weekly 90-minute sessions: 45 minutes of healthy behavior education and 45 minutes of facilitated exercise.
• Anthropometric data (BMI, waist circumference) collected at baseline, 12 weeks, and 12 months.
• Health behaviors (diet, physical activity, substance use) and clinical measurements assessed at baseline and 12 months.
• Focus groups conducted to capture participant experiences and program satisfaction.

Main Results:

• Baseline data indicated high health risks: 70% overweight/obese, 50% daily smokers, 64% low fruit/vegetable intake.
• No significant changes in BMI or clinical variables were observed at 12 weeks or 12 months (p > 0.05).
• At 12 months, participants self-reported improvements in diet, increased physical activity, and reduced substance/alcohol/smoking rates.

Conclusions:

• The 12-week intervention helped participants mitigate physical health risks, with effects sustained at 12-month follow-up.
• Self-reported positive health behavior changes likely prevented excessive weight gain in this high-risk population.
• The intervention's success in a real-world EIP setting led to its integration into routine care.