Exercise as an add-on treatment in individuals with schizophrenia: Results from a large multicenter randomized controlled trial

Abstract

• Large multicenter RCT to investigate the effects of exercise in schizophrenia. • Six months of aerobic endurance training or flexibility, strengthening and balance training. • Improvements in schizophrenia symptoms and cognitive functioning in both groups. • Additional effects on cognition with higher training frequency. Current treatment methods do not achieve recovery for most individuals with schizophrenia, and symptoms such as negative symptoms and cognitive deficits often persist. Aerobic endurance training has been suggested as a potential add-on treatment targeting both physical and mental health. We performed a large-scale multicenter, rater-blind, parallel-group randomized controlled clinical trial in individuals with stable schizophrenia. Participants underwent a professionally supervised six-month training comprising either aerobic endurance training (AET) or flexibility, strengthening, and balance training (FSBT, control group), follow-up was another six months. The primary endpoint was all-cause discontinuation (ACD); secondary endpoints included effects on psychopathology, cognition, functioning, and cardiovascular risk. In total, 180 participants were randomized. AET was not superior to FSBT in ACD and most secondary outcomes, with dropout rates of 59.55% and 57.14% in the six-month active phase, respectively. However, both groups showed significant improvements in positive, general, and total symptoms, levels of functioning and in cognitive performance. A higher training frequency additionally promoted further memory domains. Participants with higher baseline cognitive abilities were more likely to respond to the interventions. Our results support integrating exercise into schizophrenia treatment, while future studies should aim to develop personalized training recommendations to maximize exercise-induced benefits.