Physical activity among adults with psychiatric illness in Karachi, Pakistan: A survey based research

Abstract

Introduction: In Pakistan, psychological wellbeing is still considered a stigma and has limited resources to provide maximum care. Individuals with mental illness struggle with maintaining their sedentary behaviors and have poor wellbeing. The aim of the study is to investigate the physical activity among individuals with a psychiatric illness. Materials and Methods: A sample data of 144 outpatients, diagnosed with a psychiatric illness were collected from the Outpatient Department (OPD) of a public sector psychiatric set-up in Karachi, Pakistan. The participants were assessed with the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ). Results: Females with a psychiatric illness were found to be more physically active as compared to males with a psychiatric illness (p <.01). Females were reported to have significant results (p <.01) in the domain of housework, while males reported having significant high scores (p <.05) in the domain of transportation-related physical activity. The moderate intensity of physical activity was found significant among females (p <.01) with a psychiatric illness, while walking intensity of physical activity was found significant among males with a psychiatric illness (p <.05). Conclusion: Gender was found to be a predicting factor for physical activity. There was an additional finding that married individuals were physically more active than single individuals (p <.05). Further studies are recommended to investigate barriers related to variables to facilitate healthy living.

Keywords

• sedentary lifestyle
• exercise
• primary care
• mental disorders
• gender