Abstract
BackgroundUnhealthy behaviours such as physical inactivity, sedentary behaviour and smoking have been found to be more prevalent in people with psychiatric disorders than in the general population, leading to increased mortality risk. The present study seeks to identify correlates of physical activity and sedentary behaviour among psychiatric patients in Singapore, as well as investigate differences in their physical activity patterns by smoking status.MethodsParticipants (n = 380) were recruited from a tertiary psychiatric hospital in Singapore as part of a study on the prevalence and correlates of smoking among psychiatric patients. Physical activity levels and sedentary behaviour were measured using the Global Physical Activity Questionnaire (GPAQ) and analysed based on GPAQ guidelines. Chi-square analyses were conducted to examine differences in physical activity by smoking status, and logistic regression analyses to yield sociodemographic correlates of meeting physical activity guidelines (as recommended by the World Health Organization) and sedentary behaviour.ResultsEducation was found to be significantly associated with meeting recommended physical activity levels, while age and marital status were significantly associated with excessive sedentary behaviour. Additionally, while no significant differences were found among current, former and non-smokers across all types of physical activity engagement levels, there was a high prevalence of inadequate physical activity (43.2%) and excessive sedentary behaviour (38.8%) among participants.ConclusionGiven the high prevalence of inadequate physical activity and excessive sedentary behaviour among current, former and non-smokers with psychiatric disorders, programmes aimed at increasing physical activity and lowering sedentary behaviour levels should be integrated into targeted treatment plans to improve clinical outcomes.
Highlights
Unhealthy behaviours such as physical inactivity, sedentary behaviour and smoking have been found to be more prevalent in people with psychiatric disorders than in the general population, leading to increased mortality risk
380 people participated in the study; people of other ethnicities were excluded from analysis on account
Expanding on previous studies that investigated smoking and physical activity separately [9, 10, 14, 35], the present study examined differences in physical activity level by sociodemographic variables, as well as in physical activity engagement by smoking status among people with schizophrenia spectrum and other psychotic disorders and depressive disorders
Summary
Unhealthy behaviours such as physical inactivity, sedentary behaviour and smoking have been found to be more prevalent in people with psychiatric disorders than in the general population, leading to increased mortality risk. The present study seeks to identify correlates of physical activity and sedentary behaviour among psychiatric patients in Singapore, as well as investigate differences in their physical activity patterns by smoking status. The use of tobacco accounts for more than 7.2 million of the 41 million deaths attributable to NCDs each year, and this number is only set to increase over the years as a result of the increase in number of smokers, thereby cementing the status of smoking as a major contributor of mortality rates [3].
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