AUTHOR=Rezaeimanesh Nasim , Rafiee Pegah , Saeedi Roghayyeh , Eskandarieh Sharareh , Sahraian Mohammad Ali , Khosravian Pegah , Abolhasani Maryam , Razeghi Jahromi Soodeh , Naser Moghadasi Abdorreza 

TITLE=Association of body mass index and physical activity with fatigue, depression, and anxiety among Iranian patients with multiple sclerosis

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Neurology

VOLUME=Volume 14 - 2023

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/neurology/articles/10.3389/fneur.2023.1126215

DOI=10.3389/fneur.2023.1126215

ISSN=1664-2295

ABSTRACT=Introduction: Depression, fatigue and anxiety are three common clinical symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis (MS). We investigated the role of physical activity (PA) level and body mass index (BMI) as modifiable lifestyle factors on these three symptoms. 
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in MS specialist clinic of Sina hospital, Tehran, Iran. Demographic and clinical data was collected. BMI was categorized considering WHO’s standard classification. Physical activity (PA) level and sitting time per day were obtained using the short form of international physical activity questionnaire (IPAQ-SF). Fatigue, anxiety and depression scores were measured using Persian version of Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) and Beck's Depression Inventory II (BDI-II) questionnaires, respectively. Correlation between metabolic equivalent of tasks (MET), BMI and sitting hours per day with depression, anxiety and fatigue were checked using Pearson correlation test.
Results: Totally 85 MS patients were recruited in the study. The mean ± SD age of participants were 39.07 ± 8.84 years and 72.9% (n: 62) of them were woman. Fatigue score was directly correlated with BMI (P: 0.03; r: 0.23) and sitting hour per day (P: 0.01; r: 0.26) and indirectly correlated with PA level (P ˂0.01; r: -0.33). Higher sitting hours per day was significantly correlated with elevated depression score (P: 0.01: r; 0.27). But the correlation between PA and BMI with depression was not meaningful (P > 0.05). Higher BMI (P: 0.01: r; 0.27) and lower PA (P: 0.01: r; -0.26) were correlated with higher anxiety score. The correlation between anxiety and sitting hour per day was not significant (P > 0.05).
Conclusion: Our data suggests physically active life style and being in the normal weight category as possible affecting factors on lower depression, fatigue and anxiety in patients with MS.