Physical activity according to flare status in 170 patients with RA and axSpA
| No flare (n=1157 assessments) | Flare (n=396 assessments) | p* | Short flare (n=304 assessments) | p† | Persistent flare (n=92 assessments) | p† | |
| Number of steps per day | 7197 (±2810) | 6688 (±2618) | 0.03 | 6792 (±2597) | 0.17 | 6347 (±2670) | 0.02 |
| Range of absolute reduction of steps per day in flare | – | 500–3504‡ | – | 931–2794§ | – | 836–1462¶ | – |
| Range of relative reduction of steps per day in flare (%) | – | 6.9–48.7‡ | – | 13.5–40.6§ | – | 12.2–21.3¶ | – |
| Duration of total activity (min/week) | 730 (±285) | 673 (±270) | 0.02 | 688 (±268) | 0.35 | 624 (±271) | 0.04 |
| Range of absolute reduction of activity duration in flare (min/day) | 8–57 | – | 14–42 | – | 15–27 | – | |
| Duration of activity in moderate to vigorous intensity (min/week) | 106 (±91) | 100 (±82) | 0.99 | 100 (±84) | 0.45 | 101 (±74) | 0.88 |
The mean physical activity levels according to flare status are indicative data from pooled measurements. Results are expressed in mean (±SD).
*The p values were obtained from linear mixed model with flare yes/no as the explanatory variable.
†The p values were obtained from linear mixed model with flare no/short/persistent as the explanatory variable.
‡Range considering flare duration from 1 to 7 days.
§Range considering flare duration from 1 to 3 days.
¶Range considering flare duration from 4 to 7 days.
axSpA, axial spondyloarthritis; RA, rheumatoid arthritis.