Impact of Moderating Demographic Variables on a Health Intervention for People with Serious Mental Illness

Healthy lifestyle interventions can improve the health of people with serious mental illness (SMI). Little is known whether demographic variables moderate the effectiveness of these interventions on health outcomes.

Data from an effectiveness trial of a peer-led healthy lifestyle intervention (PGLB) for people with SMI examine whether age, racial/ethnic minoritized status, and gender moderated the effectiveness of PGLB compared to usual care (UC) in achieving clinically significant improvements in weight, cardiorespiratory fitness, and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk reduction.

Compared to UC, PGLB was most beneficial for participants age 49 and younger for achieving clinically significant weight loss and from racial/ethnic minoritized communities for achieving clinically significant weight loss and reductions in CVD risk.

These findings suggest the impact of healthy lifestyle interventions for people with SMI may not be uniform and adaptations may be needed to make these interventions responsive to the needs of diverse populations.