To treat depression, schizophrenia, or bipolar disorder, series of structured physical exercises should be added to standard medications and psychotherapy.
The European Psychiatric Association (EPA) has just demonstrated that physical exercise is an effective treatment for treating major mental disorders and that it should constitute a central element of treatment. Based on a meta-analysis, the results indicate that series of structured physical exercises should be added to medications and standard psychotherapy. We are talking here about patients suffering from depression, schizophrenia or bipolar disorders.
Three times a week for at least 150 minutes
To be effective, aerobic exercise (walking, running, cycling, swimming, dancing, skating, jumping rope, etc.) must be practiced two to three times a week for at least 150 minutes. Ideally, it should be coupled with resistance exercises (squats, pumps, sheathing). In these conditions, patients have a greater chance of seeing their psychiatric symptoms decrease, but also of strengthening their cardiovascular health.
The physical aspect is important here, because the health of people with psychiatric disorders is generally worse than normal. The life expectancy of these patients can decrease by 20 years, in particular because of diabetes or cardiovascular disease.
Cardiometabolic risks
“We provide compelling evidence that now is the time for professional physical activity interventions to move out of the health care sphere and into an essential component of the treatment of mental health disorders,” says the study director. Brendon Stubbs. “Interventions that modify cardiometabolic risk are clearly needed and should be recommended as early as possible, as part of a multimodal treatment plan,” adds a co-author of the research.
The WHO (World Health Organization) considers that depressive disorders represent the leading factor of morbidity and disability worldwide. Thus, there are more than 300 million people suffering from depression in the world, a figure up by more than 18% compared to 2005.
About 600,000 people are said to be schizophrenic in France
Depression is a disease that affects all ages, from childhood to very late in life. 7.5% of 15-85 year olds have experienced a depressive episode, with a prevalence twice as high in women as in men (source: National Institute for Prevention and Health Education). The prevalence of depressive disorders is estimated between 2.1 to 3.4% in children and 14% in adolescents.
In France, approximately 600,000 people are said to be schizophrenic. Half of the patients have already made at least one suicide attempt. Schizophrenia is a severe and chronic mental disorder belonging to the class of psychotic disorders, which usually appears in early adulthood (between about 15 and 30 years old). Like other psychoses, schizophrenia is manifested by a loss of contact with reality and anosognosia, that is to say that the person who suffers from it is not aware of his illness (at least during the acute periods ).
Classic bipolar disorder affects approximately 0.4% to 1.6% of the adult population in France in all social categories, i.e. approximately 600,000 people. By including types II or III, one obtains significantly higher figures, which can go up to 7% of the population when including the entire bipolar “spectrum”, that is to say all related disorders.
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