How to improve the physical health of people with severe mental illness? A multicentric randomized controlled trial on the efficacy of a lifestyle group intervention

Background People with severe mental illnesses (SMI) have a mortality rate two times higher compared to the general population, with a decade of years of life lost. In this randomized controlled trial (RCT), we assessed in a sample of people with bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder, and schizophrenia spectrum disorder, the efficacy of an innovative psychosocial group intervention compared to a brief psychoeducational group intervention on patients' body mass index (BMI), body weight, waist circumference, Framingham and HOMA-IR indexes. Methods This is a multicentric RCT with blinded outcome assessments carried out in six Italian university centers. After recruitment patients were randomized to receive a 6-month psychosocial intervention to improve patients' physical health or a brief psychoeducational intervention. All recruited patients were assessed with standardized assessment instruments at baseline and after 6 months. Anthropometric parameters and blood samples have also been collected. Results Four-hundred and two patients with a diagnosis of bipolar disorder (43.3%), schizophrenia or other psychotic disorder (29.9%), or major depression (26.9%) were randomly allocated to the experimental (N = 206) or the control group (N = 195). After 6 months, patients from the experimental group reported a significant reduction in BMI (odds ratio [OR]: 1.93, 95% confidence intervals [CI]: 1.31-2.84; p < 0.001), body weight (OR = 4.78, 95% CI: 0.80-28.27, p < 0.05), and waist circumference (OR = 5.43, 95% CI: 1.45-20.30, p < 0.05). Participants with impaired cognitive and psychosocial functioning had a worse response to the intervention. Conclusions The experimental group intervention was effective in improving the physical health in SMI patients. Further studies are needed to evaluate the feasibility of this intervention in real-world settings.