Key result
Patients with schizophrenia had 27% (men) and 30% (women) lower peak oxygen uptake compared to healthy references (P<0.01), which was poorly associated with daily physical activity.
Why the study?
Patients with schizophrenia have a high prevalence of cardiovascular disease, but peak oxygen uptake is rarely investigated and its relation to conventional cardiovascular risk measures in this population is unclear.
Cross-Sectional (n=96)
Patients with schizophrenia have significantly lower V̇O2peak compared to healthy references, suggesting a high cardiovascular risk profile that is poorly captured by daily physical activity alone.
Patients with schizophrenia are physically inactive and have high prevalence of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Peak oxygen uptake (V̇O2peak) is one of the strongest predictors for CVD, yet is rarely investigated in this patient population, and how V̇O2peak relates to other conventional CVD risk measures in this population is unclear. We measured treadmill V̇O2peak along with daily physical activity assessed by triaxial accelerometry, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, blood pressure, lipid profiles, and glucose in 48 outpatients (28 men, 35 ± 10 (SD) years; 20 women, 35 ± 12 years), diagnosed with schizophrenia, schizotypal, or delusional disorders (ICD‐10; F20‐29). The patients were compared with 48 age‐ and sex‐matched healthy references (±2 years) and normative data from the population. V̇O2peak was 34.5 ± 8.7 mL/kg/min (men) and 26.4 ± 7.0 mL/kg/min (women), which was 27% and 30% lower than healthy references, respectively (both P < 0.01). V̇O2peak was not associated with daily physical activity in men while a weak association was seen in women (steps per day: r2 = 0.26; counts per minute: r2 = 0.25; P < 0.05). BMI (26.0 ± 6.1 kg/m2) revealed that patients were moderately overweight with a waist circumference of 103 ± 17 cm. Lipid‐ and glucose levels, and blood pressure were all within normative range. Our data advocate the utilization of V̇O2peak assessment for CVD risk profile determination in patients with schizophrenia. Daily physical activity was poorly and inconsistently related to V̇O2peak, suggesting increased daily physical activity might not translate into improved V̇O2peak and CVD risk reduction.
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Brobakken et al. (2019) conducted a cross-sectional in Schizophrenia, schizotypal, or delusional disorders (n=96). Schizophrenia-spectrum disorders vs. Age- and sex-matched healthy references was evaluated on Peak oxygen uptake (V̇O2peak) (27% lower (men) and 30% lower (women), p=<0.01). Patients with schizophrenia had 27% (men) and 30% (women) lower peak oxygen uptake compared to healthy references (P<0.01), which was poorly associated with daily physical activity.
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