Original ArticlesPhysical Activity and Its Correlates in Youth with Multiple Sclerosis
Section snippets
Methods
This cross-sectional study included 68 consecutive patients, 27 with multiple sclerosis and 41 with mono-ADS recruited from the Multiple Sclerosis and Neuroinflammatory Clinic at The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada, and 37 healthy control subjects who were recruited by advertisement at the hospital and in the community. Inclusion criteria for the patients with multiple sclerosis and mono-ADS included (1) Expanded Disability Status Scale <4.0 (fully ambulatory); (2) 12-18 years of
Results
Descriptive data and inferential statistics for demographic and clinically relevant factors in all groups are presented in Table I. There were no differences in the age (P = .067), sex (P = .106), or measures of socioeconomic status (highest level ofmaternal education [P = .863], highest level of paternal education [P = .512], and annual house hold income bracket [P = .154]) between the groups. In addition, no significant differences were found in depression or fatigue between the groups.
Table
Discussion
We found that youth with multiple sclerosis participated in significantly less MVPA, as measured via accelerometry, than youth with mono-ADS (Table III). In addition, objectively measured activity levels in our pediatric population with multiple sclerosis were even lower than observed in previously published self-report data in a similar population.9
Another important finding was that the overall level of physical activity in all groups was low. The Canadian Physical Activity Guidelines for
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2022, Multiple Sclerosis and Related DisordersCitation Excerpt :Notably, we have reported that levels of PA and fitness are very low in youth with MS (Grover et al., 2015; Stephens et al., 2020). Self-report and device-based (accelerometry) PA data collection methods indicate that few children with MS participate in any MVPA, and none of the youth with MS studied met the public health recommendations for MVPA of 60 min per day (Grover et al., 2015, 2016). These data support the importance of approaches for improving PA in youth with MS.
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2022, Multiple Sclerosis and Related DisordersCitation Excerpt :Mental health challenges are common in children with neuroinflammatory disorders: up to 75% of children with MS suffer from fatigue and depression (Amato et al., 2010; Carroll et al., 2016). Additionally, children with neuroinflammatory disorders have lower rates of physical activity compared to healthy children, and fall below the standards for national physical activity recommendations (Carson et al., 2017; Grover et al., 2016). Reduced physical activity is correlated with higher levels of mental distress in children (Korczak et al., 2017).
Physical Activity in Youth with Multiple Sclerosis receiving the ATOMIC intervention: Social connectedness above all else
2021, Multiple Sclerosis and Related DisordersCitation Excerpt :Unfortunately, despite low levels of motor disability in youth with MS, PA levels are very low, with no youth satisfying current Canadian guidelines for PA in one study (Grover et. al., 2016). However, theory-related factors such as goal setting and self-efficacy were identified as correlates of vigorous PA in this population (Grover et. al., 2016; Sikes and Motl, 2020), suggesting that focus on these factors within an intervention may be key for improving PA levels in youth with MS. Goal-setting and self-efficacy are both constructs of Social Cognitive Theory (SCT), a theory positing new skills and behaviours are gained through observation and re-enactment, and that the learning and maintaining of these behaviours over time occur through social reinforcement (Bandura, 1977).
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Funded by National Multiple Sclerosis Society (PP2256), the Mario Batalli Foundation, and the Manitoba-Ontario endMS Summer Studentship Award (2237). B.B. is an advisor to Biogen Idec, Novartis, Eli Lilly, and Sanofi-Aventis; serves as Chief Editor for Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders; and serves on the Editorial Board of Neurology. R.M. has received speaker honoraria from EMD Serono and funding from Biogen Idec, Acorda Therapeutics, and Sun Health Technologies. The other authors declare no conflicts of interest.