Background/Purpose: Fibromyalgia symptomatology results in a low functional capacity¹, limiting the daily activities and the quality of life of the patients². Walking for commuting is a healthy behaviour which might be one of the sources for increasing the physical activity in women^3,4. We aimed to examine the association between active commuting and objectively measured physical activity in women with fibromyalgia.

Methods: A total of 486 fibromyalgia women who meet the 1990 American College of Rheumatology Fibromyalgia criteria were enrolled in this cross-sectional study. Mode of commuting was assessed with a mode of commuting questionnaire⁵. Physical activity was measured by accelerometry during 7 complete days. One way analysis of covariance was performed between active (i.e. walk or cycling) and passive commuters (i.e. users of cars, motorbikes and bus). Linear regression analyses were conducted to further examine the relationships between mode of commuting and physical activity in separates models. All analyses were conducted separately in two age groups, i.e.: <51 (young group) and ≥51 (older group)⁶. Age, algometer score and accelerometry wear time were used as confounders.

Results: Active commuters from both age groups spent less time in sedentary activities (all p<0.001), greater time in all physical activity intensities (all p≤0.001; except vigorous, p<0.05), and registered a higher amount of steps (p≤0.001) than passive commuters. The results of the linear regression analysis showed, in the younger group, a positive and significant association between active commuting and moderate, moderate to vigorous physical activity, total physical activity and steps count (all p≤0.01). Active commuting was negatively and significantly associated with sedentary time (p=0.008). No association between active commuting and accelerometry outcomes were observed in the older group.

Conclusion: Findings of the current study suggest that, in fibromyalgia women, commuting actively is associated with less time in sedentary activities, greater levels of physical activity and a higher amount step counts. A public health strategy for increasing the physical activity levels in this population might be to promote walking to reach the daily destinations (i.e., work, supermarket…). References: ¹Carbonell-Baeza A et al., Pain Med. 2011;12:1667–75. ² Mas AJ et al., Clin Exp Rheumatol. 2008;26:519–26. ³ Yang L et al., Prev Med. 2012;55:453–7. ⁴ Yang X et al., Prev Med. 2014;59:5–11. ⁵ Herrador-Colmenero M et al., J Sports Sci 2015;33:850–62. ⁶ Herrador-Colmenero M et al., Clin Exp Rheumatol.2016;34:S67–73. Funding: The Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (I+D+i DEP2010-15639, I+D+i DEP2013-40908-R, BES-2014-067612, FPU12/00963 and FPU13/01088).

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ACR Meeting Abstracts - https://acrabstracts.org/abstract/association-of-active-commuting-and-physical-activity-in-women-with-fibromyalgia/