title: Improving the physical health of long-term psychiatric inpatients.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Patients with psychiatric illness have increased somatic morbidity and increased mortality. Knowledge of how to integrate the prevention and care of somatic illness into the treatment of psychiatric patients is required. The aims of this study were to investigate whether an intervention programme to improve physical health is effective.
  
  
  METHODS
  An extension of the European Network for Promoting the Health of Residents in Psychiatric and Social Care Institutions (HELPS) project further developed as a 12-month controlled cluster-randomized intervention study in the Danish centre. Waist circumference was a proxy of unhealthy body fat in view of the increased risk of cardiovascular diseases and type 2 diabetes.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Waist circumference was 108 cm for men and 108 cm for women. Controlled for cluster randomization, sex, age, and body fat, the intervention group showed a small, but not significant, reduction in waist circumference, while participants in the control group showed a significant increase in waist circumference.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The intervention had a positive effect on the physical health of the patients measured by a reduction in the increase of waist circumference.
authors.affiliation: Aarhus University Hospital, Aalborg Psychiatric Hospital, Aalborg, Denmark ashanti@mail.dk.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Hjorth
authors.affiliation: Centre of Health and Community, Copenhagen University, Denmark.
authors.forename: Annette S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Davidsen
authors.affiliation: Ulm University, klinik für Psychiatrie und Psychotherapie, Günzburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Reinhold
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kilian
authors.affiliation: Visborggaard, Hadsund, Denmark.
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pilgaard Eriksen
authors.affiliation: Aarhus University Hospital, Aalborg Psychiatric Hospital, Aalborg, Denmark.
authors.forename: Signe O W
authors.initials: SO
authors.lastname: Jensen
authors.affiliation: Aarhus University Hospital, Aalborg Psychiatric Hospital, Aalborg, Denmark.
authors.forename: Helle Ø
authors.initials: HØ
authors.lastname: Sørensen
authors.affiliation: Aarhus University Hospital, Risskov, Skovagervej 2, 8240 Risskov, Denmark.
authors.forename: Povl
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Munk-Jørgensen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006293:Health Promotion; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007297:Inpatients; D008019:Life Style; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors; D055105:Waist Circumference
keywords: Cluster-randomized control; long-term psychiatric inpatients; physical health; prevention; waist circumference