The level of daily physical activity and methods to increase it in patients after liver or kidney transplantation

Abstract

Introduction: Regular physical activity results in many health benefits, however many studies indicate that the level of activity of patients after transplantation is low. The purpose of the study was to assess the level of daily physical activity in patients after liver (LTx) or kidney transplantation (KTx) and the usefulness of a self-monitoring method in increasing their daily physical activity. Material and methods: Patients after LTx or KTx (n = 100) has been enrolled to the study and were randomly assigned to either an intervention (IG) or control group (CG). Ninety-four participants completed the 3 month period of observation. Participants assigned to IG were monitoring their daily physical activity using a pedometer and were required to complete a diary of daily number of steps. The level of physical activity was also assessed by International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ). In the statistical analysis the parametric and non-parametric tests has been used in consistency with data distribution. A value of p ≤ 0.05 was considered significant. Results: The average daily number of steps in pre/posttest in both study groups was less than 7600. The study showed a significant relationship between the average daily number of steps and daily Total Physical Activity Score TPAS/day [MET-min/day] (p < 0.001; r = 0.57). The study did not revealed any effects of intervention. Conclusions: Daily physical activity in patients after KTx or LTx is low, but it does not differ from healthy population (<7500 steps). In post-transplant comprehensive medical management, long-term physical activity recommendations could be included together with the early post-surgery physiotherapy.