Is Symptomatic Fatigue Associated With Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviors Among Persons With Multiple Sclerosis?
Whitney N Neal, Katie L Cederberg, Brenda Jeng and 2 others
PMID 32340521WHAT IT FOUND
After accounting for disability and education, fatigued and non-fatigued adults with MS no longer differed in light activity, harder activity, or sitting time.
Unadjusted differences existed, but the groups also differed in disability and education.
Key findings
01Before adjustment, the fatigued group spent a greater percentage of wear time in sedentary behavior (mean difference 4.2%) and lower percentages in light physical activity (mean difference -2.7%) and non-transformed moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (mean difference -1.5%) than the non-fatigued group.
02After controlling for disability status and years of education, the groups no longer differed in sedentary behavior, light physical activity, or transformed moderate-to-vigorous physical activity; the remaining difference in non-transformed moderate-to-vigorous physical activity was likely due to non-normal data, and the fatigued group had higher mobility disability and fewer years of education.
03Of the 252 participants, 174 had Fatigue Severity Scale scores of 4 or higher and were classified as fatigued, while 78 had scores below 4 and were classified as non-fatigued.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
The study was cross-sectional, so it cannot show that fatigue causes less activity or more sitting, or that changing fatigue will change activity. Participants were selected from a registry and chose to complete questionnaires and wear an accelerometer, so they may not represent all people with MS. The sample was mostly middle-aged Caucasian women with relapsing-remitting MS, so results may not apply to younger people, men, non-Caucasian people, or those with progressive MS. The number of valid accelerometer days varied across participants, and some participants had limited valid data. Fatigue severity was measured with one scale, and the study did not account for energy conservation, medications, or the impact of fatigue.
Declared interests
The supplied text does not include a conflicts of interest or funding declaration. The publication types indicate research support from N.I.H., Extramural and Non-U.S. Gov't.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that reducing fatigue will increase activity or reduce sitting. The study was cross-sectional, and after controlling for disability status and years of education, the fatigued and non-fatigued groups no longer differed in activity or sitting.