mHealth Physical Activity and Patient-Reported Outcomes in Patients With Inflammatory Bowel Diseases: Cluster...

Area of Science:

• Wearable technology and digital health
• Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) research
• Patient-reported outcomes (PROs)

Background:

• Physical activity improves quality of life in IBD patients, but research often relies on self-reported data.
• Wearable devices offer objective measures of physical activity (steps, duration, intensity).
• Understanding how IBD patients engage in different physical activity dimensions and their impact on outcomes is limited.

Purpose of the Study:

• To cluster physical activity patterns using data from wearable devices in IBD patients.
• To assess the association between identified physical activity clusters and patient-reported outcomes (PROs).

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional and longitudinal cohort study of adults with IBD.
• Physical activity data collected via wearable devices and smartphone apps.
• K-means cluster analysis on steps, moderate-to-vigorous activity duration, and distance.
• Analysis of PROs using validated questionnaires (PROMIS, IBD-specific).

Main Results:

• Three physical activity clusters identified: low (33.7%), moderate (46%), and high (20.3%).
• Lower physical activity was associated with worse scores for depression, pain, fatigue, sleep, social satisfaction, and IBD activity (all P<.001).
• Low activity cluster participants were older, had higher BMIs, and longer disease durations.
• Most participants (67.8%) maintained their activity cluster over 6 months; minimal transition between low and high activity clusters.

Conclusions:

• Positive associations exist between physical activity levels and PROs in IBD patients, impacting disease activity and psychosocial well-being.
• Physical activity patterns are generally stable over time in IBD patients without intervention.
• Real-world data can identify lifestyle subgroups for targeted interventions in personalized IBD care.