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. 2017 Apr;37(4):623-631.
doi: 10.1007/s00296-016-3637-6. Epub 2016 Dec 24.

Physical activity but not sedentary activity is reduced in primary Sjögren's syndrome

Wan-Fai Ng  1 , Ariana Miller  2 , Simon J Bowman  3 , Elizabeth J Price  4 , George D Kitas  5 , Colin Pease  6 , Paul Emery  6 , Peter Lanyon  7 , John Hunter  8 , Monica Gupta  8 , Ian Giles  9 , David Isenberg  9 , John McLaren  10 , Marian Regan  11 , Annie Cooper  12   13 , Steven A Young-Min  13 , Neil McHugh  14 , Saravanan Vadivelu  15 , Robert J Moots  16 , David Coady  17 , Kirsten MacKay  18 , Bhaskar Dasgupta  19 , Nurhan Sutcliffe  20 , Michele Bombardieri  20 , Costantino Pitzalis  20 , Bridget Griffiths  21 , Sheryl Mitchell  21 , Samira Tatiyama Miyamoto  22 , Michael Trenell  2 ; UK Primary Sjögren’s Syndrome Registry
Collaborators, Affiliations

Physical activity but not sedentary activity is reduced in primary Sjögren's syndrome

Wan-Fai Ng et al. Rheumatol Int. 2017 Apr.

Abstract

The aim of the study was to evaluate the levels of physical activity in individuals with primary Sjögren's syndrome (PSS) and its relationship to the clinical features of PSS. To this cross-sectional study, self-reported levels of physical activity from 273 PSS patients were measured using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire-short form (IPAQ-SF) and were compared with healthy controls matched for age, sex and body mass index. Fatigue and other clinical aspects of PSS including disease status, dryness, daytime sleepiness, dysautonomia, anxiety and depression were assessed using validated tools. Individuals with PSS had significantly reduced levels of physical activity [median (interquartile range, IQR) 1572 (594-3158) versus 3708 (1732-8255) metabolic equivalent of task (MET) × min/week, p < 0.001], but similar levels of sedentary activity [median (IQR) min 300 (135-375) versus 343 (223-433) (MET) × min/week, p = 0.532] compared to healthy individuals. Differences in physical activity between PSS and controls increased at moderate [median (IQR) 0 (0-480) versus 1560 (570-3900) MET × min/week, p < 0.001] and vigorous intensities [median (IQR) 0 (0-480) versus 480 (0-1920) MET × min/week, p < 0.001]. Correlation analysis revealed a significant association between physical activity and fatigue, orthostatic intolerance, depressive symptoms and quality of life. Sedentary activity did not correlate with fatigue. Stepwise linear regression analysis identified symptoms of depression and daytime sleepiness as independent predictors of levels of physical activity. Physical activity is reduced in people with PSS and is associated with symptoms of depression and daytime sleepiness. Sedentary activity is not increased in PSS. Clinical care teams should explore the clinical utility of targeting low levels of physical activity in PSS.

Keywords: Fatigue; Patient registry; Patient-reported outcomes; Physical activity; Primary Sjögren’s syndrome.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Summary of the participant flow of the study. *The majority (~70%) of the “Incomplete/unusable” data were “unusable” because the participants had responded “Don’t know/Not sure” to the question on “how much time spent on the physical activity”, the remaining were “unusable” because data on the number of days or hours/minutes spending on the physical activity were missing, unclear or contradictory
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Vigorous, moderate, total and walking physical activity levels in primary Sjögren’s syndrome (PSS) cohort and healthy controls. PA physical activity
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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