Effects of aerobic exercise on cognitive function in male patients with chronic schizophrenia

Abstract

BackgroundThe schizophrenia is majorly treated with drug and through physical therapy. However， both treatments would lead to adverse reactions， which could affect therapy adherence and treatment efficacy. Previous studies have shown that aerobic exercise can help alleviate cognitive function in patients with Alzheimer's disease and depressive disorder. At present， little research has been done on such alleviation in schizophrenia patients.ObjectiveTo explore the effect of aerobic exercise on cognitive function in male patients with chronic schizophrenia， so as to provide references for relevant treatments.MethodsA total of 76 male patients with chronic schizophrenia hospitalized in the Fourth People's Hospital of Wuhu between December 2022 and April 2023 were selected as the study subjects and， in accordance with random number table， divided into study group （n=36） and control group （n=40）. Both groups received conventional drug treatment. On this basis， the study group received a 60-minute aerobic exercise 5 times a week for 8 weeks as intervention. Before and after intervention， assessment of cognitive function was performed by using MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery （MCCB） and Stroop Color Word Test （SCWT）.ResultAfter intervention， compared with the control group， the study group spent less time on finishing the Trail Making Test and scored higher in both the spatial span test and maze test （Z=-2.070， -2.306， -2.375， P<0.05）. Repeated measure ANOVA results showed that the time main effect of Hopkins Verbal Learning Test score was statistically significant in the two groups after intervention （F=39.067， P<0.05）. So was the interaction effect between the time and group of the Brief Visuospatial Memory Test and Verbal Fluency Test scores （F=10.092， 9.252， P<0.05）. After intervention， the scores of the Brief Visuospatial Memory Test and Verbal Fluency Test in the study group were higher than those in the control group （t=6.689， 4.249， P<0.05）. As for the study group itself， the scores were higher than those before intervention （t=23.746， 23.842， P<0.05）. After intervention， the numbers of correct reading in color test and word test in the study group were more than those in the control group （Z=-2.358， -2.771， P<0.05）. The interaction effect between the time and group of the reaction time in color test， word test and color word interference test were statistically significant in both groups （F=23.383， 19.888， 19.662， P<0.05）. After intervention， the reaction time in color test and color word interference test of the study group was shorter than those of the control group （t=4.895， 6.163， P<0.05）. As for the study group itself， the reaction time were shorter than before intervention （t=54.318， 42.425， 42.141， P<0.01）.ConclusionAerobic exercise may help alleviate the cognitive problems in male patients with chronic schizophrenia in terms of information processing speed， working memory， reasoning/problem solving ability， word learning and memorizing， visual learning and memorizing， and executive function. ［Funded by Wuhu Science and Technology Plan Project （number， 2021jc2-3）］

Keywords

• aerobic exercise
• schizophrenia
• cognitive function