Physical activity is associated with reduced fatigue in adults living with HIV/AIDS.
Allison R Webel, Joe Perazzo, Michael Decker and 3 others
PMID 27485463WHAT IT FOUND
In 90 adults living with HIV/AIDS, more self-reported weekly moderate exercise was linked to lower fatigue.
Each 150 minutes per week was associated with a 17% lower score on a 0 to 8 fatigue scale. Sleep did not differ by fatigue group.
Key findings
01In 90 adults living with HIV/AIDS, more weekly exercise was associated with lower fatigue intensity after accounting for age, sex, race, waist-to-hip ratio and CD4 nadir.
02Each 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise per week was associated with a 17% reduction in fatigue on a 0 to 8 scale.
03Sleep duration, efficiency and fragmentation did not differ between high-fatigue and low-fatigue groups, and sleep variables were not associated with exercise or quality of life.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
This was an observational cohort, not a randomised trial, so it cannot show that exercise caused the lower fatigue. The study included 90 adults at one urban, well-resourced site, so the results may not apply to other settings. Exercise was measured from a seven-day diary, not supervised or randomly assigned, and sleep was measured with an actigraph. The analysis used a 10% significance level, so some reported associations may be less secure. The high-fatigue and low-fatigue groups differed in age, sex, years since HIV diagnosis and CD4 nadir, and the main model adjusted for CD4 nadir but not years since diagnosis.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the 17% reduction as proof that starting exercise will lower fatigue. This was an observational study with self-reported weekly exercise, so people who exercised more may have differed in other ways. The study did not randomise participants or test an exercise programme.