Investigation of physical performance, muscle strength, flexibility, physical activity and quality of life in patients with anxiety disorder

Investigation of Physical Performance, Muscle Strength, Flexibility, Physical Activity and Quality of Life In Patients with Anxiety Disorder Aim: In this study, we aimed to report and compare the changes of performance, muscle strength, flexibility, physical activity and quality of life parameters between Patients with Anxiety Disorder and without the disorder. Method: This study included 28 patients aged between 18-55 years who were diagnosed with anxiety disorder and 28 people with no anxiety disorder as the control group. Physical performance was assessed "Short Physical Performance Test", muscle strength was assessed "Hand and Back-Leg Dynamometer", flexibility was assessed "Sit-Lie Test", physical activity was assessed "International Physical Activity Questionnaire", quality of life was assessed "SF-36 Quality of Life Scale" were used seperately. SPSS 23.0 program is used for statistical analysis. Results: There were no significant differences between the anxiety disorder and control groups in terms of gender, age, body mass index, marital status, educational status, economic status, working status and alcohol use status. In the anxiety group, active smoking status was significantly higher than the control group (p=0,02). Back strength (p=0,03), leg strength (p=0,01) and physical performance (p<0,001) were significantly lower in the anxiety group than the control group. There was no statistically significant difference between the groups in terms of hand grip (p=0,85), flexibility (p=0,15) and physical activity (p=0,43) measurements. In the study, general health, physical function, physical role, emotional role, social function, energy and mental health measurement values were significantly lower in anxiety group compared to the control group (p<0,05). But there was no statistically significant difference in terms of pain levels (p=0,15). In the anxiety group, with the income level of 25.000 tl/year or higher, the values of hand grip, back force and leg strength measurements were significantly higher than the ones with lower income status (p<0,05). Conclusıon: Strength, physical performance and quality of life were adversely affected in the group with anxiety disorder, but hand grip strength, flexibility and physical activity values were not affected. In both groups, it was observed that working in a job and high economic situation had positive effects on hand grip, back force and leg strength measurement values. As a result, in the treatment of anxiety disorder, it is important to include exercise therapy and inform the society to increase the awareness. Key words: Anxiety; Physical activity; Muscle strength; Life quality