The effects of mindful exercise on cognition in patients with schizophrenia: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

Cognitive impairment is a core symptom of schizophrenia. This study investigated the effects of mindful exercise on the cognitive performance of individuals with schizophrenia. A systematic review and meta-analysis were performed from inception to March 2023. The quality of included studies was evaluated using the Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro) scale. A random effects model was used to generate the pooled effect size. Ten randomized controlled trials met the inclusion criteria with fair-to-good methodological quality. The results showed that Mindful exercise significantly improved global cognition in patients with schizophrenia (g = 0.25, p = .002). There was a significant difference in mindful exercise compared with the passive control group (g = 0.34, p = .002), whereas no significant difference was found between the mindful exercise and exercise intervention group (g = 0.09, p = .371). These findings indicate that mindful exercise could be promising for improving cognition in patients with schizophrenia.