Physical activity in daily life assessed by an accelerometer in kidney transplant recipients and hemodialysis patients

Abstract

Background: Sedentary lifestyle is a problem among hemodialysis (HD) patients, potentially attenuated after kidney transplantation. However, the effect of kidney transplantation on physical activity has not been thoroughly investigated.

Objective: This study sought to evaluate the physical activity in daily life in kidney transplant recipients (KTRs) compared with HD patients and to explore its relationship with clinical variables.

Methods: A cross-sectional study enrolled KTRs who received transplants at least 6 months before the study (N = 23; 48.3 ± 10.3 years) and patients undergoing HD for at least 6 months (N = 20; 47.3 ± 12.6 years). Time spent in different activities (walking, standing, sitting, and lying down) and number of steps taken, measured by a multiaxial accelerometer used for 12 h/d on 2 consecutive days for KTRs and on 4 consecutive days for HD patients, were evaluated.

Results: KTRs engaged in more active time per day (sum of walking and standing time) than HD patients (311 ± 87 vs 196 ± 54 min/d; P = .001), with longer walking (106 ± 53 vs 70 ± 27 min/d; P = .008) and standing time (205 ± 55 vs 126 ± 42 min/d; P < .001). Sixty-five percent of KTRs were classified as active (>7500 steps/d) compared with only 20% of the HD group (P < .05). The multivariate analysis showed that time posttransplantation was significantly associated with walking time and active time.

Conclusions: By using an accelerometer, a precise method, this study showed that KTRs are significantly more active in daily life than HD patients, and that daily physical activity increases with time since transplantation.