Physical activity in Norwegian teenagers and young adults with haemophilia A compared to general population peers

Abstract

Introduction: Limited evidence exists on objectively measured habitual physical activity (PA) of young people with haemophilia (PWH). Aims: To compare different outcomes of objective PA between young PWH A and controls using a commercial activity tracker. Methods: We enrolled males aged 13–30 years with moderate and severe haemophilia A, without inhibitors on regular prophylaxis. PA was measured with the activity tracker Fitbit Charge 3 for 12 weeks. Control group data was obtained from ≈60,000 Fitbit users, matched on age, sex and measurement period. PA variables [steps, intensities, volume, activity types, exercise frequencies and proportion meeting the World Health Organization's moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) recommendations] were compared between groups descriptively and using Welch's two-sample t-test and two-sample test of proportions. Results: Forty PWH A were enrolled (mean age 19.5 years, 50% teenagers, 50% adults, three (7.5%) with moderate and 37 (92.5%) with severe haemophilia). Mean daily steps and minutes MVPA were similar between PWH and controls. PWH spent more time in light PA (mean 227 vs. 192 min/day, P =.033) and exercised more frequently (mean 5.6 vs. 3.9 exercise sessions/week, P