Relationships between Physical Activity, Symptoms and Quality of Life among Inpatients with Severe Mental Illness

Abstract

Introduction: Interest in researching physical activity in relation to mental health is growing. This exploratory study investigated the relationships between self-reported physical activity, depression, anxiety and quality of life in patients with severe mental illness. Method: A cross-sectional, correlational design study was conducted at a psychiatric hospital department in eastern Norway. A convenience sample of 18 inpatients with severe mental illness was used. Physical activity was measured with the International Physical Activity Questionnaire; anxiety and depression were measured with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale; and quality of life was measured with the World Health Organization Quality of Life — BREF. Correlation and multiple regression analyses were employed. Results: Bivariate analyses showed that patients with more depression and anxiety symptoms reported lower quality of life. There was no bivariate relationship between physical activity and quality of life, except in the psychological domain. Regression analyses confirmed relationships between higher depression and anxiety scores, and lower quality of life, whereas physical activity remained unrelated to quality of life. Conclusion: Preliminary findings indicate that the lack of relationship between physical activity and quality of life may be due to participants' severity of illness. Physical activity may be more important to quality of life in better-functioning patients.