Physical Activity and Quality of Life in Multiple Sclerosis

描述(申请人提供)：多发性硬化症(MS)是一种慢性、不可预测的神经系统疾病，在一个人一生中最富有成效的年龄段发病，并且缺乏令人信服的疾病修正治疗。这种组合造成了一种不寻常的应激性疾病，对个人的生活质量(QOL)产生了强大的影响。多发性硬化症患者的生活质量低于未患病人群和患病人群。显然，缓解MS患者的生活质量下降是一个重要的研究方向。这可能是通过了解影响MS患者生活质量的因素来实现的。在MS患者中，参加体育活动是一种积极影响生活质量的可改变的生活方式因素。在MS患者中，情绪、自我效能感、社会支持、疼痛和疲劳是对MS患者生活质量的额外影响。根据概念模型和最近的研究，MS患者中体育活动对生活质量的积极影响可能由中间因素来解释，即残疾、情绪、自我效能、社会支持、疼痛和疲劳。这项拟议的研究涉及(1)体力活动和生活质量关系的检查以及(2)对体力活动对多发性硬化症患者生活质量影响的变量的评估。这项研究将采用纵向研究设计，以250名多发性硬化症患者为方便样本。我们假设，在多发性硬化症患者中，体力活动与生活质量之间存在正向关系，这种关系将由残疾、情绪、自我效能、社会支持、疼痛和疲劳来解释。也就是说，体力活动将通过减少残疾、抑郁、焦虑、疼痛和疲劳以及增强自我效能和社会支持来改善生活质量。我们的假设将使用先进的数据分析技术，即协方差结构分析来解决。这一系列研究的公共卫生意义在于，体育活动是一种可改变的生活方式因素，对改善MS患者的生活质量具有潜在的深远作用。鼓励MS患者参与体育活动虽然具有挑战性，但对于有意义地改善一个人的生活质量至关重要。在鼓励参与体力活动之前，需要更多的研究来支持体力活动和生活质量之间的联系，并确定解释这种关系的因素。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic, unpredictable neurological disease with onset during the most productive years of one's life and an absence of convincing disease-modifying treatment. This combination creates an uncommonly stressful illness that exerts a powerful impact upon an individual's quality of life (QOL). Those with MS have lower QOL than non-diseased and diseased populations. Obviously, mitigating reductions in QOL of those with MS is an important research direction. This might be accomplished by understanding factors that influence QOL in those with MS. Participation in physical activity is a modifiable lifestyle factor that positively influences QOL among those with MS. Disability, mood, self-efficacy, social support, pain, and fatigue are additional influences on QOL among those with MS. Based on conceptual models and recent research, the positive effect of physical activity on QOL among those with MS might be accounted for by intermediate factors, namely disability, mood, self-efficacy, social support, pain, and fatigue. The proposed study involves (1) an examination of the physical activity and QOL relationship and (2) an evaluation of variables that account for the influence of physical activity on QOL in individuals with MS. This will be accomplished using a longitudinal research design with a convenience sample of 250 MS patients. We hypothesize that there will be a positive relationship between physical activity and QOL among those with MS, and this relationship will be accounted for by disability, mood, self-efficacy, social support, pain, and fatigue. That is, physical activity will be associated with improved QOL through reduced disability, depression, anxiety, pain, and fatigue and enhanced self-efficacy and social support. Our hypotheses will be addressed using advanced data analytic techniques, namely covariance structure analysis. The public health significance of this line of research is that physical activity is a modifiable lifestyle factor that has a potentially profound role in improving the QOL of those with MS. Encouraging participation in physical activity among those with MS, although challenging, is crucial for meaningful improvements in one's QOL. Before encouraging participation in physical activity, additional research is required that supports the link between physical activity and QOL and identifies factors that account for this relationship.