Associação entre atividade física e funcionalidade em indivíduos com transtornos mentais: uma revisão sistemática

Abstract

Mental disorders are characterized by clinically significant disturbances in an individual's cognition, emotion regulation, or behavior, reflecting a dysfunction in the psychological, biological, or developmental processes underlying mental functioning. Mental disorders are associated with a low functional capacity, possibly due to the characteristics of the individual or the disease. It is also known that individuals with severe mental illness are less likely to achieve physical activity recommendations when compared to the rest of the population. Since regular physical activity can promote better functionality through cognitive, physical, mental factors, improving physical health and reducing symptoms. The objective of the present dissertation was, through a systematic review, to study the association between physical activity and functionality in individuals with mental disorders. Studies that evaluated the impact of physical activity on functionality were included. The search was performed in the following online databases: Pubmed, Embase, PsycINFO and SPORTdiscus, without restriction to the year of publication until August 1st, 2022, a meta-analysis of random effects was conducted using the correlation coefficient “r” and the sample size of each study. The I2 was used to assess and quantify heterogeneity. Risk of bias was assessed using the National Institutes of Health Study Quality Assessment Tools. Ten studies were identified and six were included in the meta-analysis, including 251 adults (39.2 ± 11.9 years, 33.6% of women). We found a moderate positive correlation between functionality and physical activity (r = 0.39, 95% CI 0.242 to 0.528, p <0.001, I² = 49.3%). The heterogeneity found was high, however, due to the small number of studies found, it was not possible to explore the moderating factors of this heterogeneity. The study concludes that there was a moderate positive association between physical activity and functionality, suggesting the importance of promoting physical activity in individuals with mental disorders. However, this evidence is based on cross-sectional studies and a causal relationship cannot be established.