Associations between physical activity, resilience, and quality of life in people with inflammatory bowel disease

Research has shown that moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) is associated with higher health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in healthy individuals. Recent studies have suggested that low- to moderate-intensity physical activity can be beneficial to HRQOL in people with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD); however, studies investigating associations between MVPA and HRQOL in this population are lacking.

To understand the relationships among walking, MVPA, resilience, and HRQOL in people with IBD.

People with IBD (n = 242) completed questions about physical activity, resilience and HRQOL. Pearson product-moment correlations and multiple regression analyses were used to identify associations between physical activity and HRQOL. Analysis of covariance was used to compare HRQOL over quartiles of walking and MVPA with demographic variables as covariates.

Both walking and MVPA were independently associated with physical (β = 0.21 and β = 0.26, respectively; p ≤ 0.001) but not mental HRQOL (p > 0.05). Higher volumes of MVPA were significantly associated with physical HRQOL (quartile 1 40.3 ± 9.0 vs. quartile 4 47.4 ± 9.0; p < 0.001) while higher volumes of walking were associated with both physical and mental HRQOL (p ≤ 0.01).

The findings suggest that engaging in higher volumes of MVPA above 150 min/week and walking, particularly above 60 min/week, are associated with improved HRQOL in people with IBD. Research would benefit from investigating participation in MVPA as a coping strategy, in a longitudinal manner, to determine which modes of activity may be most beneficial to people with IBD.