Eurofit test battery in patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder: reliability and clinical correlates

Objective: To investigate the reproducibility of the Eurofit physical fitness test battery in patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. Secondary aims were to assess clinical and demographic characteristics that correlate with the performance on the Eurofit and evaluation of the feasibility of the test.

Methods: Fifty patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder (mean age of 32.9±9.5 years) with a mean body mass index (BMI) of 26.1±6.0 kg/m(2) performed two Eurofit tests administered within 3 days.

Results: All Eurofit items showed good reproducibility with intraclass correlation coefficients ranging from 0.72 for flamingo balance to 0.98 for standing broad jump test. All participants could perform five of the seven test items without problems. The whole body balance and abdominal muscle endurance test could be executed by 74 and 90%, respectively. Significant correlations were found with age, BMI, waist circumference, dose of antipsychotic medication and extrapyramidal, negative and cognitive symptoms.

Conclusions: The Eurofit test showed good reproducibility and can be recommended for evaluating physical fitness parameters in patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. Physical fitness measures were related to both physical and mental health parameters.