Habitual physical activity in mitochondrial disease.

Area of Science:

• Neurology
• Exercise Physiology
• Genetics

Background:

• Mitochondrial disease is a common neuromuscular disorder impacting daily life and longevity.
• Exercise therapy can improve mitochondrial function, but habitual physical activity levels in patients are unknown.
• Understanding physical activity's role is crucial for managing mitochondrial disease.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess habitual physical activity levels in patients with mitochondrial disease.
• To investigate the relationship between physical activity and clinical phenotype in mitochondrial disease.
• To compare physical activity in patients versus a matched control group.

Main Methods:

• Assessed habitual physical activity, genotype, and clinical presentations in 100 mitochondrial disease patients.
• Utilized step counts, sedentary behavior metrics, and BMI for assessment.
• Matched patients with a control group based on age, gender, and BMI.

Main Results:

• Mitochondrial disease patients showed significantly lower physical activity (6883 steps/day) than controls (9924 steps/day).
• 78% of patients were below 10,000 steps/day; 48% were overweight or obese.
• Higher physical activity was moderately associated with a lower clinical disease burden (r(s) = -0.49, P<0.01).

Conclusions:

• Low physical activity is prevalent in mitochondrial disease, often accompanied by obesity.
• Physical activity may be a significant, modifiable risk factor for disease progression.
• No systematic differences in physical activity were observed across different mitochondrial disease genotypes.