Physical activity and walking performance: Influence on quality of life in ambulatory children with cerebral palsy (CP).
Kilby Mann, Elaine Tsao, Kristie F Bjornson
PMID 27935563WHAT IT FOUND
Parent-reported physical activity was linked to higher physical and total quality-of-life scores.
Walking at a higher pace was linked only to the physical score. Neither was linked to the psychosocial score, and older age was linked to lower scores.
Key findings
01Parent-reported physical activity was associated with higher physical and total quality-of-life scores, and walking at a higher pace was associated with higher physical quality-of-life scores.
02Neither physical activity nor walking at a higher pace was associated with psychosocial quality-of-life scores, but higher participation level was associated with higher psychosocial quality-of-life scores.
03Older age was associated with lower physical, psychosocial, and total quality-of-life scores.
STILL TO COME
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What it does not show
This was a secondary cross-sectional analysis, so it can show associations but not whether activity, walking, or participation caused quality of life. The sample size and secondary analysis limited which variables could be examined. Pain was not measured or modeled. Socioeconomic and physical environment variables were not available. Quality of life was parent-reported because of the age range, and self- and proxy-report differences are known. The sample was primarily Caucasian, with about a third of parents having vocational school or some college and 73% reporting home ownership.
Declared interests
The authors reported no conflicts of interest. The paper is listed as NIH extramural research support.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that increasing physical activity or walking will improve quality of life. The study was cross-sectional and parent-reported, so it only measured associations at one time and did not test an intervention.