Accepted for/Published in: JMIR mHealth and uHealth
Date Submitted: Nov 5, 2021
Date Accepted: Mar 21, 2022
Wearables for Measuring the Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior of Patients with Axial Spondyloarthritis : A Systematic Review
ABSTRACT
Background:
Axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) is an inflammatory rheumatic disease sometimes associated with chronic back pain and restricted mobility and physical function. Increasing physical activity represents a viable strategy for improving the health and quality of life of patients with axSpA. Quantifying physical activity and sedentary behavior in this population is thus relevant to clinical outcomes and disease management. However, to the best of our knowledge, no systematic review to date has identified and synthesized the available evidence on the use of wearable devices for taking objective measurements of the physical activity or sedentary behavior of patients with axSpA.
Objective:
To review published studies using data from wearable devices on the physical activity or sedentary behavior of patients with axSpA.
Methods:
The PubMed, Pedro, and Cochrane electronic databases were searched for relevant original articles in July 2021, with no limits on publication dates.
Results:
Thirty-one studies were initially found; thirteen met the inclusion criteria, including a total of 819 patients with axSpA. All the studies had used accelerometer-based wearable devices to assess physical activity. Four studies also reported outcomes related to sedentary behavior. Wearable devices were secured on wrists (n=3 studies, 23%), lower backs (n=3, 23%), right hips (n=3, 23%), waists (n=2, 15%) [46,47], anterior thighs (n=1, 8%) [36], or right arms (n=1, 8%). Methods for reporting physical activity and sedentary behavior were heterogeneous. Ten studies had a monitoring period of one week, including weekend days. Studies found that patients with axSpA spent less time in vigorous activity than healthy controls, whereas no differences were found in durations of light activity and sedentary behavior. Inconsistent results were found regarding time spent in moderate activity compared to healthy controls.
Conclusions:
Few studies to date have used wearable devices to quantify the physical activity and sedentary behavior of patients with axSpA. Their methodologies were very heterogeneous. Clinical studies, however, seem very promising, suggesting that axSpA management can be drastically improved using wearable devices. Clinical Trial: PROSPERO: CRD42020182398
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