Physical activity and vascular comorbidity in Black and White persons with multiple sclerosis: A cross-sectional...

Physical activity and sedentary behavior have been associated with vascular comorbidity in multiple sclerosis (MS), yet the associations have not been thoroughly investigated in MS subpopulations as a function of race.

This study examined if physical activity levels/sedentary time and vascular comorbidity differed between Black and White persons with MS, and further examined the associations between the variables within the two MS subpopulations.

Participants (n = 208) completed the comorbidity questionnaire in MS and wore accelerometers for seven days as a device-measure of physical activity levels/sedentary time. We examined the effect of race on physical activity levels/sedentary time and vascular comorbidity, controlling for covariates, using ANCOVA. We further performed bivariate correlations among variables in Black and White persons with MS separately.

Only moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) was significantly different between Black and White persons with MS, even after controlling for age, disease duration, marital status, education level, and income [F(1,177) = 9.01, p = .003, d = 0.16]. There was only a significant and moderate association between MVPA and vascular comorbidity in White persons with MS (r = -0.33).

The findings indicate that MVPA is higher in White than Black persons with MS, and that more MVPA was associated with lower vascular comorbidity in White persons with MS. Physical activity behavior might be a potential target for managing vascular comorbidity in White persons with MS.