Fatigue linked to disability, conditioning, activity level in relapsing-remitting MS

Key takeaways:

• Study examined 41 individuals with RRMS and 20 healthy controls required to wear accelerometer for 1 week.
• Significant correlations found between fatigue and level of disability as measured by EDSS.

For individuals with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis, fatigue levels were associated with disability rate, physical conditioning and activity level, according to research from Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders.

“Fatigue is one of the most common symptoms in patients with multiple sclerosis, but measuring its effects on patients in daily life is challenging,” Marko Luostarinen, MS, a PhD researcher in the biomedical sciences department at the University of Eastern Finland, and colleagues wrote.

Luostarinen and fellow researchers sought to clarify the association between the disability of those with relapsing-remitting MS, the nature of fatigue relative to the disease and measurements of physical activity by accelerometer.

They conducted a study that included 20 healthy control participants, as well as 41 individuals between the ages of 18 and 55 diagnosed with RRMS who scored between 0 and 5.5 on the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) to complete the Modified Fatigue Impact Scale (MFIS) — with the threshold for severe fatigue a score of 38 or higher — and the Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS) questionnaires.

All 61 individuals enrolled in the study performed the MS Functional Composite (MSFC) test, a 30-minute sit-up test and the standard 6 Minute Walk test while wearing an accelerometer for 1 week. Physicality as measured by the device was divided into five activity levels: sedentary, light, moderate, vigorous and very vigorous, and then subdivided into MVPA for moderate-to-vigorous, MVPS for light to very vigorous.

According to results, significant correlations exist between fatigue and disability level measured via EDSS (EDSS/FSS, r = 0.75/P = .001; EDSS/MFIS, r = 0.661/P = .001), along with the MSFC test in the RRMS patient group (MSFC/FSS, r = 0.35/P = .025; MSFC/MFIS, r = 0.423/P = .007).

Researchers also found total daily activity correlated with fatigue when measured by FSS (MVPS/FSS r = 0.357/P = .028, step count/FSS r = 0.463/P = .003); however, no correlation was found between the EDSS or MSFC.

Data additionally showed that participants with an EDSS score of 0 to 2.5 registered higher fatigue levels compared with healthy controls but recorded lower levels than those with an EDSS score of 3 to 5.5.

“More specific research is required into patients’ disability and actual physical activity levels, taking the existing levels of patients’ disability into account,” Luostarinen said in a related release.

Reference:

• Physical activity may prevent fatigue in patients with MS. https://news.cision.com/university-of-eastern-finland/r/physical-activity-may-prevent-fatigue-in-patients-with-ms,c3814603. Published Aug. 8, 2023. Accessed Aug. 18, 2023.