Self-reported physical activity in Danish patients with systemic lupus erythematosus

• Published in: Danish medical journal Vol. 69; no. 2
• Main Authors: Bech, Maja Munck, Kay, Susan Due, Möller, Sören, Voss, Anne
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Denmark 27-01-2022
• Subjects: Denmark; Exercise; Humans; Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic; Self Report; Severity of Illness Index; Denmark
• ISSN: 2245-1919

Physical activity is acknowledged as an important factor for enhancing health, and the WHO recommends performing physical activity weekly. The aim of this study was to describe self-reported physical activity in a population of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus.
The patients were enrolled at outpatient consultations where patient and disease characteristics such as age, gender, disease damage (SLICC/ACR-DI), disease activity (SLEDAI-2K) and medication were registered. Self-reported physical activity was evaluated using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ), and a continuous variable on energy requirement in the form of the metabolic equivalent (MET) was calculated. Depression was evaluated with the Major Depression Inventory (MDI) questionnaire.
A total of 210 patients reported a mean total MET score of 5,319 ± 3,650 (mean ± standard deviation) MET-min./week, and they spent an average of 194 ± 118 min./day being physically active. 70.5% of the patients reported a high level of physical activity and 89.5% met the WHO recommendations. The MDI questionnaire found that 10.5% were depressed. Severely depressed patients had lower MET scores, but this group only included six patients. Physical activity was inversely associated with time spent sitting according to the IPAQ (p = 0.001), disease duration (p = 0.02) and the SLICC/ACR DI score (p = 0.01), but not with the MDI (p = 0.26).
A large share of the patients reported a high level of physical activity and met the WHO recommendations.
Odense University Hospital Fund for Pre-graduate Scholarships (A 3478).
not relevant.