Physical Activity in Young Relapsing Remitting Multiple Sclerosis Patients: A Case-Control Study
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.46531/sinapse/AO/143/2026Keywords:
Exercise, Fatigue, Multiple Sclerosis, Multiple Sclerosis, Relapsing-Remitting, Quality of LifeAbstract
Introduction: Physical activity (PA) is known to be beneficial in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS); nevertheless, previous studies reported lower PA rates among these patients. Our study aims to assess PA in relapsing-remitting MS (RR-MS) patients and compare it with PA from healthy controls (HC). We also aim to assess the correlation between PA, fatigue, and sleep health.
Methods: A convenience sample including patients diagnosed with RR-MS (EDSS < 4.0), followed in the Neurology-Demyelinating Diseases consultation of a tertiary hospital, who agreed to participate in the study, compared to age- and sex-matched controls, was evaluated for objective PA for 7 days, using a Xiaomi Mi Band 5th armband (MiBand). This instrument reported daily step count, kilometer (km) count, active time, hours of sleep, and sleep score. The subjective assessment was derived from the self-reporting International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) long version. Quality of sleep and fatigue in RR-MS patients were assessed using the SATED score and the Modified Fatigue Impact Scale (MFIS), respectively.
Results: Twenty-three RR-MS patients and 21 matched HC were included. No differences were found in either IPAQ or MiBand regarding PA comparison between RR-MS patients and HC: RR-MS patients revealed a mean active time of 84.81 minutes/day, 6712 steps/day, and 4.28km/day, while HC had 74.95 min/day, 5421 steps/day and 3.59 km/day. People who self-reported higher PA levels had higher measured active time (r 0.524; p = 0.001). RR-MS patients with higher scores in MFIS (higher fatigue levels) showed lower PA levels (p = 0.021) and lower SATED scores, meaning poor sleep health (p< 0.001).
Conclusion: Self-reported physical activity correlates with objective measurements, while higher levels of fatigue and poor sleep health correlate with lower PA levels in RR-MS patients. Adequate evaluation is important to promote healthy physical activity habits. A bigger sample is needed to explore differences between groups regarding PA levels.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Inês Morais, Bárbara Martins, Catarina Caldeiras, Daniela Ferro, Joana Guimarães, Maria José Sá, Andreia Costa
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