PTOTCohortFrontiers in rehabilitation sciences2021

Correlates of Objectively Measured Physical Activity Among People With Multiple Sclerosis: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Jennifer Fortune, Meriel Norris, Andrea Stennett and 6 others

PMID 36188781

WHAT IT FOUND

People with progressive MS spent less time in light activity than those with relapsing-remitting MS.

Walking impairment predicted less vigorous activity, but only for those with lower disability scores. For those with higher disability scores, walking ability did not predict activity levels.

Key findings

01People with secondary progressive MS spent on average 54 min less in light physical activity per day than those with relapsing remitting MS.

02Walking capability was the only independent predictor of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity in the adjusted model.

03For those with an EDSS score of between 1.0 and 4.0, a 1% increase in walking impairment was associated with a decrease of 0.57 min of moderate-to-vigorous activity per day, but there was no association for those with EDSS scores of 4.5 to 6.5.

STILL TO COME

How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTs

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What it does not show

The sample was predominantly women (67%) and White (88%), limiting generalisability to other genders and ethnic backgrounds. Participants were recruited from an MS Therapy Center and the MS Society website, which may mean they were more engaged with physical activity than the general MS population. The cross-sectional design cannot establish causality. The sample size was small (58 participants).

Declared interests

The study was supported by the MS Society UK. The authors declared no commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

The easy way to misread this

Do not assume that improving walking capacity will increase physical activity for patients with higher disability scores (EDSS 4.5–6.5). The study found no association between walking impairment and vigorous activity in this group, suggesting other intervention strategies are needed.

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