Schizophrenia is a common public health issue that generates a social and economic burden. Individuals affected by schizophrenia experience severe and chronic levels of disability that derive from acute psychotic symptoms, as well as cognitive impairments for which available treatments offer only limited benefits. Moreover, their life expectancy is lower, and they have a higher prevalence of heart diseases risk factors such as obesity, dyslipidemia, smoking, hypertension, diabetes and physical inactivity than the general population. The World Health Organization and the European Mental Health Action Plan 2013-2020 acknowledge the role of physical activity in mental health and encourage the inclusion of lifestyle changes in education and treatment programs for people with mental illness, delivered in primary and secondary healthcare settings. The benefits of regular physical activity are well-recognized and are inversely associated with mortality risk and the incidence of many chronic diseases. Moreover, it plays a critical role in preserving and even improving cognitive function throughout the lifespan. However, people with schizophrenia tend to be less engaged in physical activity programs than the general population and report a range of barriers such as pain, side effects of medications and negative symptoms.

The purpose of this trial is to evaluate the efficacy of an exercise-based intervention program among people with schizophrenia.

All individuals with schizophrenia were screened for eligibility. After verifying inclusion and exclusion criteria and after eligibility is confirmed, written informed consent must be obtained prior to randomization. Baseline patient characteristics (i.e., demographics, medical history, laboratory test results) have been collected and recorded for further assessment. Randomization was performed during the inclusion visit (T1). Randomization will be performed centrally using an internet-based system. The identification number (ID) and the treatment allocation will be assigned by the randomization system. Patients were randomized to physical activity group or usual care by a 2:1 allocation. After the randomization, all participants underwent the same battery of tests and questionnaires according to the study protocol.

All patients were involved in the usual care cognitive program. It was held in weekly 90-minute sessions in a Psychiatric Rehabilitation Center of the Healthcare District of Ferrara. Specialized psychiatric therapists conduct this program with groups of 5-10 participants, based on a Cognitive Remediation model. Each session consists of welcoming participants, reviewing tasks conducted in the last meeting, and assignment of new pen-and-pencil cognitive and metacognitive tasks. Tasks include games and exercises (e.g., sudoku, crosswords), as well as discussions aimed at improving short- and long-term memory (i.e., repeating sequences of words and numbers), executive functions, and social cognition, with progressive adaptation of task difficulty. The total number of sessions is 50 for a duration of 12 months. In addition, the intervention arm was involved in a supervised exercise-based program. They could voluntarily participate in a variety of activities such as walking or Nordic walking groups, gentle gymnastics, soccer, swimming, and volleyball. Each activity was scheduled twice a week.