Minimal clinically important difference in physical activity in people with asthma

Area of Science:

• Pulmonary Medicine
• Exercise Physiology
• Clinical Research

Background:

• Physical activity in daily life (PADL) positively impacts asthma control and quality of life.
• The minimal clinically important difference (MCID) for PADL in asthma management is not well-defined.
• This study aimed to establish the MCID for PADL in individuals with moderate-to-severe asthma.

Purpose of the Study:

• To estimate the minimal clinically important difference (MCID) for physical activity in daily life (PADL).
• To determine specific MCID values for steps per day and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) per day in asthma patients.
• To provide benchmarks for evaluating the effectiveness of interventions aimed at increasing physical activity in asthma.

Main Methods:

• Utilized data from a cohort of moderate-to-severe asthma patients undergoing an 8-week behavioral intervention to increase PADL.
• Employed both anchor-based (linear regression, ROC curves) and distribution-based (half SD, SEM) methods to calculate MCID.
• Calculated pooled MCID by taking the weighted mean of results from anchor-based (Asthma Control Questionnaire, Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire) and distribution-based methods.

Main Results:

• MCID estimates for steps per day ranged from 446 to 1995.
• MCID estimates for moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) per day ranged from 2 to 13 minutes.
• The pooled MCID was determined to be 1413 steps per day and 8 minutes of MVPA per day.

Conclusions:

• The study proposes MCID values of 1413 steps/day and 8 min MVPA/day for individuals with asthma.
• These established MCIDs can serve as valuable metrics for interpreting the effectiveness of health programs.
• Implementing interventions that achieve these physical activity targets may lead to improved asthma-related health outcomes.