The Association between fatigue and physical activity in patients hospitalized with subacute stroke

BackgroundLittle is known about the association between fatigue and physical activity in patients hospitalized with subacute stroke.ObjectivesThe aim of this study was to investigate the association between fatigue and physical activity in patients hospitalized with subacute stroke.MethodsThis cross-sectional study enrolled 244 consecutive patients with stroke who were admitted to a subacute rehabilitation ward at our hospital. We assessed fatigue with the Fatigue Assessment Scale (FAS) and used an accelerometer (Active style Pro HJA750-C, OMRON) to record the mean duration of sedentary behavior, light-intensity physical activity (LIPA), and moderate-to-vigorous-intensity physical activity (MVPA). We assessed all factors at 1 month after stroke. Multivariate linear regression analysis revealed the associations between FASscore and objectively measured physical activity.ResultsIn total, we analyzed 85 patients. The duration of the sedentary behavior was significantly associated with the FAS score (beta = 1.46, p = 0.037) and the Functional Balance Scale score (beta = -1.35, p = 0.045). The LIPA time was significantly associated only with the FBS score (beta = 1.38, p = 0.045), whereas MVPA was not associated with any variable.