Wang FL, Sima CX, Zhang SJ, Hou TF. Effects of exercise-based rehabilitation training in schizophrenia patients. World J Psychiatry 2026; 16(5): 113822 [DOI: 10.5498/wjp.v16.i5.113822]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Tai-Fu Hou, Department of Sports Medicine, Luohe Medical College, No. 148 University Road, Luohe 462002, Henan Province, China. htf1978@126.com
Research Domain of This Article
Psychology
Article-Type of This Article
Observational Study
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This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
May 19, 2026 (publication date) through May 5, 2026
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Journal Information of This Article
Publication Name
World Journal of Psychiatry
ISSN
2220-3206
Publisher of This Article
Baishideng Publishing Group Inc, 7041 Koll Center Parkway, Suite 160, Pleasanton, CA 94566, USA
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Wang FL, Sima CX, Zhang SJ, Hou TF. Effects of exercise-based rehabilitation training in schizophrenia patients. World J Psychiatry 2026; 16(5): 113822 [DOI: 10.5498/wjp.v16.i5.113822]
Fu-Lei Wang, Shi-Jie Zhang, Department of Sports Medicine, Dongshin University, Naju-si 58245, Jeollanam-do, South Korea
Chu-Xin Sima, Department of Orthopedics, Yueyang Baixin Orthopedic Hospital, Yueyang 414000, Hunan Province, China
Tai-Fu Hou, Department of Sports Medicine, Luohe Medical College, Luohe 462002, Henan Province, China
Author contributions: Wang FL designed the research and wrote the first manuscript; Wang FL, Sima CX, and Zhang SJ contributed to conceiving the research and analyzing data; Wang FL and Hou TF conducted the analysis and provided guidance for the research; and all authors reviewed and approved the final manuscript.
Institutional review board statement: This study was approved by the Medical Ethics Committee of Luohe Medical College, No. 2024-1664.
Informed consent statement: Patients were not required to give informed consent to the study because the analysis used anonymous clinical data that were obtained after each patient agreed to treatment by written consent.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
STROBE statement: The authors have read the STROBE Statement-checklist of items, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the STROBE Statement-checklist of items.
Data sharing statement: The data used to conduct the research are available from the corresponding author upon request.
Corresponding author: Tai-Fu Hou, Department of Sports Medicine, Luohe Medical College, No. 148 University Road, Luohe 462002, Henan Province, China. htf1978@126.com
Received: October 28, 2025 Revised: December 16, 2025 Accepted: February 5, 2026 Published online: May 19, 2026 Processing time: 183 Days and 0.6 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Conventional antipsychotic treatment combined with health education shows limited efficacy in patients with schizophrenia, highlighting the need for further optimization of therapeutic strategies.
AIM
To evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of exercise-based rehabilitation training in patients with schizophrenia.
METHODS
From February 2022 to February 2025, 127 patients with schizophrenia were divided into a control group (n = 59) managed with routine pharmacotherapy and an intervention group (n = 68) receiving additional exercise-based rehabilitation training. Outcomes were assessed before and after the intervention using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale, the Nurses’ Observation Scale for Inpatient Evaluation (NOSIE), the Stroop Color-Word Test (SCWT), the Trail Making Test, the Brief Assessment of Cognition in Schizophrenia symbol coding test, the Inpatient Psychiatric Rehabilitation Outcome Scale, and serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor levels.
RESULTS
After the intervention, the intervention group demonstrated significantly greater reductions in Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale scores, NOSIE negative factor scores, Trail Making Test completion time, and Inpatient Psychiatric Rehabilitation Outcome Scale total and domain scores compared with the control group. Significant post-treatment increases were observed in NOSIE positive and total scores, SCWT word and color accuracy, Brief Assessment of Cognition in Schizophrenia performance, and serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor levels in the intervention group relative to baseline and control group values. SCWT total correct responses did not differ between groups or timepoints.
CONCLUSION
Exercise-based rehabilitation training significantly improves psychiatric symptoms, cognitive performance, social functioning, and biological markers in patients with schizophrenia, supporting its incorporation as an adjunctive component of standard treatment.
Core Tip: This study evaluated exercise-based rehabilitation training in 127 patients with schizophrenia using a comprehensive program integrating motor skills, dynamic cognitive challenges, and structured social interaction. The intervention demonstrated clear advantages in alleviating clinical symptoms and improving cognitive function, information processing speed, and social functioning, supporting its value as an effective adjunctive treatment option.
