Stroke survivors with the same levels of exercise as healthy individuals have lower levels of physical activity.

BACKGROUND: Physical activity and exercise are different constructs. However, professionals usually employ heterogeneous definitions for these distinct constructs, resulting in nonspecific and inaccurate assessments, which compromise clinical decision making. PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to verify if the levels of physical activity behave similarly between individuals with stroke and healthy-control individuals with the same levels of exercise. METHODS: Seventy-five stroke survivors and 75 healthy-control individuals matched by levels of exercise, age, and sex were evaluated. The level of exercise was classified as inactive, insufficient, and moderate/vigorous according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention criteria. The level of physical activity was assessed with the Human Activity Profile (HAP) and classified as "inactive," "moderately active," and "active." The physical activity level was compared between groups of subjects (stroke versus healthy-control) and subgroups of the level of exercise ("inactive," "insufficient," and "moderate/vigorous" level of exercise) (α = 5%). RESULTS: Stroke survivors had a significantly lower level of physical activity (HAP: 51 ± 22 and 71 ± 19 points, respectively). Only for individuals with stroke, a statistically significant difference was found in the levels of physical activity between subgroups of level of exercise, specifically between "inactive" and "moderate/vigorous" subgroups (HAP:47 ± 22 and 70 ± 8 points, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Physical activity behaved differently between individuals with stroke and healthy-control individuals with the same levels of exercise. Individuals with stroke had worse physical activity levels than matched controls. Furthermore, different from individuals with stroke, in healthy-control individuals with different levels of exercise, the level of physical activity was similar.

Nível de atividade física de usuários da atenção primária: comparação entre indivíduos saudáveis e pós acidente vascular cerebral / Physical activity levels of a primary health care users: comparisons between healthy subjects and subjects with stroke

Indivíduos acometidos pelo Acidente Vascular Cerebral (AVC) comumente apresentam um baixo nível de atividade física (AF), o que é fator de risco para recorrência do AVC, surgimento de outras doenças cardiovasculares e aumento das incapacidades. A manutenção de um bom nível de AF associa-se a uma melhora funcional e da saúde desses indivíduos. Objetivo: Comparar o nível de AF de indivíduos saudáveis e indivíduos pós-AVC usuários da atenção primária do SUS. Método: Todos os indivíduos pós-AVC (G1; n=37) usuários de uma Unidade Básica de Saúde (UBS) da cidade de Belo Horizonte, MG com condições clínicas para responder a um questionário, e indivíduos saudáveis pareados (G2; n=37), também usuários da UBS, foram avaliados quanto ao nível de AF pelo questionário Perfil de Atividade Humana (PAH). Estatísticas descritivas, teste-t de student, teste qui-quadrado e teste de Mann-Whitney foram utilizados para as análises (α=0,05). Resultados: Os grupos foram semelhantes quanto à idade, sexo e nível de exercício físico (p>0,05). Houve diferença estatisticamente significativa entre os grupos para todas as variáveis do PAH (0,001≤p≤0,011). Conclusão: Indivíduos pós-AVC apresentaram piores pontuações ou classificações quando comparados a indivíduos saudáveis pareados para todos os desfechos do PAH relacionados ao nível de atividade física

Subjects with stroke have a low physical activity level which may lead to recurrence of stroke events, occurrence of other cardiovascular diseases and increase of disabilities. The maintenance of an adequate physical activity level is associated with improvements on functionality and health of these subjects. Objective: To compare the physical activity levels of subjects with stroke and matched healthy subjects from a Primary Health Care unit. Method: Subjects with stroke (G1; n = 37) from a Primary Health Care unit, with clinical conditions to answer a questionnaire, and healthy matched subjects (G2; n = 37), from the same unit, were assessed for physical activity level by the Human Activity Profile (HAP) questionnaire. Descriptive statistics, t-test student, chi-square test and Mann-Whitney test were used for analysis (α = 0.05). Results: The groups were similar in age, sex and exercise level (p>0.05). There was a significant difference between groups on HAP (0.001≤p≤0.011). Conclusion: Individuals with stroke are worse classified and have worse scores on physical activities levels of the HAP, when compared to matched healthy individuals