Investigation of the relationship of sedentary behaviour to physical activity level, fear of falling and fatigue in people with multiple sclerosis

This study was conducted to investigate the relationship of sedentary behavior with physical activity level, fear of falling and fatigue in individuals with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Comparisons were made in different groups by evaluating sedentary behavior, physical activity level, fear of falling, and fatigue in 71 individuals with MS who participated in the study. Sedentary behavior was assessed with the Marshall Sitting Questionnaire (MSQ), physical activity level was evaluated with the Godin Leisure Time Exercise Questionnaire (GLTEQ), fear of falling was evaluated with the Fall Efficacy Scale International (FES-I), and fatigue was evaluated with the Modified Fatigue Impact Scale (MFIS). In addition, walking assessments of all participants were made with the Timed 25 Foot Walk (T25FW), the 6-Minute Walk Test (6MWT), the Timed Up and Go Test (TUG), and the 12 Item Multiple Sclerosis Walking Scale (MSWS-12). Of the individuals with MS participating in the study, 29.6% were asymptomatic, 54.9% had mild disability, and 15.5% had moderate disability. The median sitting time of all participants is 591.43 min/day. No significant relationship was found between sitting times and disability levels (p>0.05). Being a man increases the risk of sitting 3.08 times, being working 4.65 times, and getting a higher score for each unit on the fatigue scale increases the risk of sitting 1.03 times. Total sitting time is independent of physical activity level and fear of falling. The results of this study reveal that sedentary behavior is more common in people with MS than in the healthy population. Sedentary behavior is associated with fatigue, independent of physical activity level and fear of falling. It may be recommended to evaluate the psychological and social factors affecting sedentary behavior in future studies to be planned on sedentary behavior in people with MS.