title: Adherence to lifestyle recommendations by patients with depression.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  There is an increasing amount of evidence showing that physical activity and sun exposure are effective coadjuvant treatments for patients with mild to moderate depression. However, there is a lack of information regarding patient's adherence to these recommendations in daily clinical practice.
  
  
  METHODS
  We conducted a study including 15 depressive patients who had been under antidepressant treatment for at least one month. They wore a wrist-watch-like actimetry sensor to measure physical activity and sun exposure 24 hours a day. After one week of baseline assessment, patients were randomised into one of the two arms of the study. Patients in the experimental group received a brief note in which they were explicitly asked to increase both their physical activity level and time of sun exposure, while control group patients did not receive these explicit recommendations.
  
  
  RESULTS
  One week after recommendations were delivered, only patients in the experimental group had increased time of sun exposure and physical activity (25.8% and 14.3%, respectively).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Depressive patients are able to follow prescribed lifestyle recommendations in the short-term.
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Psiquiatría, Hospital Son Llàtzer, Palma de Mallorca, Spain. mgarciat@hsll.es
authors.forename: Mauro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: García-Toro
authors.forename: Olga
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Ibarra
authors.forename: Margalida
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gili
authors.forename: María Jesús
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Serrano
authors.forename: Margalida
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vives
authors.forename: Saray
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Monzón
authors.forename: Natalia
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Bauzá
authors.forename: Bárbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Oliván
authors.forename: Enric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Vicens
authors.forename: Miguel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Roca
mesh_terms: D003863:Depression / Q000628:therapy*; D015444:Exercise; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008019:Life Style; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010349:Patient Compliance / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D013472:Sunlight