Summary of Recomendations

Document Overview

Design and created by Guideline Central in participation with the European Psychiatric Association.

Lifestyle Interventions for Adults with Severe Mental Illness

European Psychiatric Association

Publication Date: Dec 10, 2024

Page Last Updated: May 6, 2026

Levels of Evidence

Evidence Category	Sources of Evidence	Definition
A	Randomized-controller trials (RCTs)	Evidence if from endpoints of well-designed RCTs that provide consistent findings in the population for which the recommendation is made without any important limitations.
A	Rich body of high quality evidence without any significant limitation or bias	Requires a high quality evidence from 2 or more clinical trials involving a substantial number of subjects, or a single high quality RCT involving substantial numbers of patients without any bias.
B	Randomized-controller trials (RCTs) with important limitations	Evidence is from RCTs that include only a limited number of patients, post hoc or subgroup analyses of RCTs or meta-analyses of RCTs.
B	Limited body of evidence	Also pertains when a few RCTs exist, or important limitations are evident (methodological flaws, small numbers, short duration, undertaken in a population that differs from the target population of the recommendation, or the results are somewhat inconsistent).
C	Non-randomized controlled trials; observational studies	Evidence is from outcomes of uncontrolled or non-randomized trials or from observational studies.
D	Panel consensus judgement	Provision of guidance is deemed valuable but clinical literature addressing the subject is insufficient. Panel consensus is based on clinical experience or knowledge that does not meet the stated criteria.

Document Title: Lifestyle Interventions for Adults with Severe Mental Illness

Full Text Guideline: www.cambridge.org/core/journals/european-psychiatry/article/epa-guidance-on-lifestyle-interventions-for-adults-with-severe-mental-illness-a-metareview-of-the-evidence/A9A222D988A107082ACB5A5789FF2840

Source Citation: Maurus I, Wagner S, Spaeth J, Vogel A, Muenz S, Seitz V, von Philipsborn P, Solmi M, Firth J, Stubbs B, Vancampfort D, Hallgren M, Kurimay T, Gerber M, Correll CU, Gaebel W, Möller HJ, Schmitt A, Hasan A, Falkai P. EPA guidance on lifestyle interventions for adults with severe mental illness: A meta-review of the evidence. Eur Psychiatry. 2024 Dec 10;67(1):e80. doi: 10.1192/j.eurpsy.2024.1766. PMID: 39655999; PMCID: PMC11733621.

Document Objectives: Identify the top-tier evidence on lifestyle interventions for adults with severe mental illness (SMI) to assist in expanding the range of options available to clinicians and identify current research gaps.

Diseases/Conditions (MeSH)

D019967 - Schizophrenia Spectrum and Other Psychotic Disorders

D001523 - Mental Disorders

D019967 - Schizophrenia Spectrum and Other Psychotic Disorders

D001523 - Mental Disorders

Target Provider Population: Physicians, psychologists, physiotherapists, sports and exercise scientists

Intended Users: Nurse, Nurse Practitioner, Physician, Physician Assistant, Psychologist