Highlights
- •Fatigued adults engaged in less moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), had more sedentary time, and took fewer steps.
- •The highest levels of light physical activity and MVPA occurred in the morning and middle of the day.
- •The highest levels of sedentary behavior occurred in the evening.
- •Participants had the most steps in the middle of the day.
Abstract
Objective
To examine device-measured physical activity levels and sedentary behavior participation
during different times of the day (ie, morning, midday, and evening) in adults with
multiple sclerosis (MS) who differed in fatigue status.
Design
Cross-sectional survey.
Setting
Remote survey study managed by a university-based research laboratory.
Participants
A population-based sample of 1000 participants with MS were sent recruitment materials
by the North American Research Committee on Multiple Sclerosis and 218 participants
completed all relevant outcomes (N=218).
Interventions
Not applicable.
Main Outcome Measures
Participants (N=218) completed the Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS) as a measure of fatigue
severity and were divided into subgroups of fatigued (FSS score ≥4) and nonfatigued
(FSS score <4). Participants wore an ActiGraph GT3X+ on the nondominant hip for 7
days to measure physical activity (ie, light physical activity [LPA], moderate-to-vigorous
physical activity [MVPA], steps) and sedentary behavior.
Results
Fatigued participants engaged in less MVPA (F[1216]=18.5, P<.001), fewer steps (F[1216]=27.8, P<.001), and more sedentary time (F[1216]=8.2, P=.005) than nonfatigued participants. Regardless of group, the highest levels of LPA
(F[1.7355.7]=72.9, P<.001) and MVPA (F[1.8395.3]=23.0,P<.001) occurred in the morning and middle of the day, with the lowest levels in the
evening. Regardless of group, the highest levels of sedentary behavior occurred in
the evening, with similar levels in the morning and evening (F[1.6354.5]=84.3,P<.001). Regardless of group, participants had more steps in the middle of the day,
followed by morning and then evening (F[1.8383.9]=84.7,P<.001).
Conclusions
Our results suggest that physical activity timing should be considered in future development
and delivery of behavior interventions that focus on increasing physical activity
and reducing sedentary behavior among adults with MS who have fatigue.
Keywords
List of abbreviations:
FSS (Fatigue Severity Scale), LFE (low frequency extension), LPA (light physical activity), MS (multiple sclerosis), MVPA (moderate-to-vigorous physical activity), NARCOMS (North American Research Committee on Multiple Sclerosis), PDDS (Patient Determined Disease Steps)To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: January 18, 2022
Accepted:
December 20,
2021
Received in revised form:
December 16,
2021
Received:
September 13,
2021
Footnotes
Supported in part by a pilot grant (PP 1412), a mentor-based postdoctoral fellowship from the National Multiple Sclerosis Society (MB 0011), and by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health (T32HL110952) and the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute Of Child Health & Human Development (F31HD101281). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.
Disclosures: none.
Identification
Copyright
© 2022 by the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine.
