Influence of aerobic exercise on biopsychological function among patients with bipolar affective disorder in Nigeria

Abstract

Bipolar affective disorder is associated with substantial physical health burden, mood disturbance, and cognitive difficulty, yet lifestyle-based approaches remain weakly integrated into routine psychiatric care, particularly in low-resource settings such as Nigeria. Aerobic exercise has been proposed as a useful adjunctive strategy, but evidence specific to bipolar disorder populations remains limited. This study examined whether participation in aerobic exercise is associated with physical health, mood stability, depressive symptoms, and cognitive functioning among patients with bipolar affective disorder receiving care in a Nigerian tertiary psychiatric hospital. A retrospective cross-sectional observational design was employed. The participants were adults with a clinical diagnosis of bipolar affective disorder receiving inpatient or outpatient care (N = 103). Aerobic exercise participation and biopsychological functioning were assessed using a structured self-report questionnaire. Associations between aerobic exercise participation and each outcome domain were examined using simple linear regression analyses. Higher levels of aerobic exercise participation were associated with better perceived physical health, greater mood stability, lower depressive symptom severity, and better cognitive functioning. The associations were strongest for depressive symptoms and moderate for physical health, mood stability, and cognitive functioning. All the observed relationships were statistically significant and consistent in direction. Aerobic exercise participation was associated with multiple domains of biopsychological functioning among patients with bipolar affective disorder in routine psychiatric care. These findings indicate that aerobic exercise participation is associated with multiple domains of biopsychological functioning; however, no causal or intervention effect can be inferred from the present cross-sectional design. The results should be interpreted as associative rather than causal, given the observational design.