Observational Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2019. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Aug 21, 2019; 25(31): 4493-4501
Published online Aug 21, 2019. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v25.i31.4493
Impact of pediatric inflammatory bowel disease diagnosis on exercise and sports participation: Patient and parent perspectives
Renée M Marchioni Beery, Enju Li, Laurie N Fishman
Renée M Marchioni Beery, Division of Digestive Diseases and Nutrition, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL 33612, United States
Enju Li, Institutional Center of Clinical and Translational Research, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, United States
Laurie N Fishman, Division of Gastroenterology, Boston Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, United States
Author contributions: Marchioni Beery RM and Fishman LN designed research; Marchioni Beery RM and Fishman LN performed research; Marchioni Beery RM, Fishman LN, and Liu E contributed analytic tools; Liu E analyzed data; Liu E, Marchioni Beery RM, and Fishman LN interpreted data; Marchioni Beery RM and Fishman LN wrote the paper; Marchioni Beery RM, Fishman LN and Liu E critically revised drafts and approved the final manuscript.
Supported by the National Institute of Health/National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, No. 5P30DK34854.
Institutional review board statement: This study was approved by the institutional review board of the Boston Children’s Hospital.
Informed consent statement: Informed consent was waived.
Conflict-of-interest statement: None of the authors have any conflicts of interest relevant to this study.
Data sharing statement: Data sharing has not been performed.
STROBE statement: The authors have read the STROBE Statement-checklist of items, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the STROBE Statement-checklist of items.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Renée M Marchioni Beery, DO, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Division of Digestive Diseases and Nutrition, University of South Florida, 13330 USF Laurel Drive 6th Floor, Tampa, FL 33612, United States. renee41@health.usf.edu
Telephone: +1-813-974-2201
Received: April 3, 2019
Peer-review started: April 3, 2019
First decision: June 10, 2019
Revised: July 5, 2019
Accepted: July 19, 2019
Article in press: July 19, 2019
Published online: August 21, 2019
Abstract
BACKGROUND

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) may limit physical activity due to intestinal or extraintestinal manifestations, fatigue, or exercise perception. We sought to evaluate the influence of IBD diagnosis on exercise and sports participation in a pediatric population. We compared patient-reported and parent-reported perspectives.

AIM

To evaluate the influence of IBD diagnosis on exercise and sports participation in a pediatric population.

METHODS

Consecutive IBD outpatients (aged 10-18 years) and their parents completed parallel voluntary surveys. A validated, patient-reported functional activity scale, the Hospital for Special Surgery Pediatric Functional Activity Brief Scale (HSS Pedi-FABS) was used to assess children’s activity levels.

RESULTS

There were 149 completed surveys (75% response rate) with mean participant age of 16.5 years [standard deviation (SD) = 4.0] and mean age at IBD diagnosis of 11.8 years (SD = 3.4). Most patients (77%) were diagnosed within 12 mo of symptom onset. Current athletic participation was reported in 65% across 65 sports. Participation was greatest before (40%) rather than after (32%) IBD diagnosis, with no reported change in 28%. IBD negatively impacted play/performance in 45% but did not change play/performance in 44%. IBD treatment improved patients’ desire to exercise (70%) and subjective capacity for aerobic exercise (72%). Patients and parents agreed that IBD subjects demonstrate normal capacity for aerobic exercise (0.40, 95%CI: 0.22-0.58) and that treatment improved both participatory desire (0.33, 95%CI: 0.12-0.54) and capacity for aerobic exercise (0.52, 95%CI: 0.31-0.71). Almost all (99%) viewed exercise as healthy, and most encouraged its practice. IBD patients demonstrated normal mean HSS Pedi-FABS scores.

CONCLUSION

After pediatric IBD diagnosis, most patients continue exercise and sports, with mean activity levels comparable to American youth. Treatment positively impacts participatory desire and aerobic capacity. Patients favor the role of exercise in IBD.

Keywords: Inflammatory bowel disease, Physical activity, Exercise, Sports

Core tip: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) may limit physical activity due to intestinal or extraintestinal manifestations, fatigue, or exercise perception. This survey evaluates the influence of pediatric IBD diagnosis on exercise and sports participation, comparing patient- and parent-reported perspectives. Most patients look favorably on the role of exercise and continue to partake in a variety of physical activities, with mean activity levels comparable to American youth. Treatment positively impacts participatory desire and aerobic capacity.