A study of physical activity comparing people with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease to normal control subjects.
Gita M Ramdharry, Alexander J Pollard, Robert Grant and 7 others
PMID 27684376WHAT IT FOUND
People with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease took fewer steps each day than matched controls, despite similar daily energy expenditure.
They also broke up inactive periods into shorter bouts and moved from inactive to active more often.
Key findings
01People with CMT took fewer steps each day than matched controls, but calorie expenditure, energy expenditure and time spent sedentary, moderate or vigorous did not differ between groups.
02People with CMT had shorter sedentary bouts and more transitions from inactive to active behaviour than controls, although some records were lost before this analysis.
03Hip abductor strength, BMI, disease severity and self-reported walking ability were associated with some activity variables, but no clinical measures predicted step count, vigorous activity or inactive-to-active transitions.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
The study included only 20 people with CMT and 20 controls, so it may not represent the wider CMT population. The CMT group was genetically and functionally heterogeneous, and some wore ankle foot orthoses or used a crutch. The CMT participants were recruited from people volunteering for an exercise trial, so they may have been more motivated or active than typical people with CMT. The activity monitor was not validated in people with CMT, and muscle wasting may mean energy expenditure was overestimated. For the sedentary bout analysis, six CMT records and two control records were lost, reducing the data available. The study was cross-sectional, so it cannot show that hip strength, BMI or disease severity caused the activity differences. No clinical measures predicted step count, so it does not tell therapists which patients will take fewer steps.
Declared interests
The authors report no declarations of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that people with CMT are equally active because energy expenditure and time in moderate or vigorous activity were similar. They took fewer steps, and the monitor may overestimate energy expenditure because it assumes normal body composition.