Test-retest reliability and correlates of the 6-min walk test in people with alcohol use disorders.

OBJECTIVES: People with alcohol use disorders (AUD) are at a higher risk for physical co-morbidities. Consequently, their daily life functioning needs to be reliably assessed and followed-up. We examined the reliability of the 6-min walk test (6MWT) in a cohort of inpatients with AUD. Secondary aims were to assess minimal detectable changes (MDC95 ), practice effects and associations of the 6MWT with demographical and clinical variables. METHODS: Two 6MWTs were administered within 3 days to 45 (32♂) inpatients with a DSM-5 diagnosis of AUD. Physical complaints before and after the 6MWT were recorded. Patients performed a standing broad jump to assess muscle strength and completed the International Physical Activity Questionnaire, the Positive Affect and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) and Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test. RESULTS: Patients walked 636.3 ± 82.3 meters and 638.1 ± 77.6 meters at the first and second test. The intraclass correlation coefficient was 0.94 (95% confidence interval 0.90-0.97). The MDC95 was 15 meters for men and 9 meters for women. No practice effect was detected. The presence of feet or ankle problems or pain before the test, dyspnea after the test, impaired muscle strength and lower PANAS positive affect scores were independently related to shorter 6MWT distance accounting for 67.3% of the variance. CONCLUSION: The 6MWT is a reliable tool for evaluating the functional exercise capacity in inpatients with AUD. Health care professionals should consider musculoskeletal and respiratory symptoms when interpreting fitness test outcomes in this vulnerable population.

Functional exercise capacity in inpatients with alcohol use disorder versus healthy controls: A pilot study.

The purpose of this study was to compare the functional exercise capacity of patients with alcohol use disorders (AUD) with an age-, gender-, and body mass index (BMI)-matched healthy control group. Thirty patients (22 males, 40.4 ± 10.5 years, illness duration = 9.7 ± 9.3 years) and healthy control subjects (22 males, 40.2 ± 10.7 years) participated. Participants performed a 6-min walk test (6MWT) to assess their functional exercise capacity, were asked about musculoskeletal problems and dyspnea, executed a standing broad jump to assess their muscular strength, and completed the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ). Patients also filled in the Positive Affect and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) and Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT). Our data show that patients with AUD walked a significantly shorter distance on the 6MWT (649.0 ± 72.9 m vs. 724.4 ± 89.0 m, p = 0.001). In patients with AUD, the variance in standing broad jump score explained 43.6% of the variance in the 6MWT score. The current study demonstrates that impaired muscle strength is negatively associated with functional outcomes in patients with AUD. Exercise interventions should be investigated in order to assess whether they can ameliorate muscle strength and daily life functioning of this vulnerable population.

Functional exercise capacity is associated with global functioning in patients with alcohol use disorder.

This study explored whether the Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) score is associated with the functional exercise capacity among inpatients with alcohol use disorders (AUD). 45 (32 men) inpatients (41.1 ±â€¯13.2 years, range = 18-70 years) performed a 6-minute walk test (6 MWT), a standing broad jump (muscle strength) and were assessed with several questionnaires. The GAF-score correlated significantly with the 6 MWT-score (Pearson's r = 0.47, p = 0.002). Variance in illness duration (11.1 ±â€¯11.0 years) explained 27.9% of the GAF-score (50.8 ±â€¯8.0) variance. Variance in GAF and muscle strength (148.3 ±â€¯44.8 cm) explained 50.9% of the 6 MWT-score (638.2 ±â€¯77.6 m) variance. Future research should explore whether improving the functional exercise capacity improves global functioning in this vulnerable population.

Physical fitness and physical activity levels in people with alcohol use disorder versus matched healthy controls: A pilot study.

Low physical fitness and physical inactivity have been recognized as prominent behavioral risk factors for cardiovascular diseases and an independent risk factor for all-cause mortality. To date, no studies have ystematically assessed physical fitness and physical activity in patients with alcohol use disorders (AUD) vs. a healthy comparison group. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to assess and compare the physical fitness and physical activity levels in patients with AUD against healthy controls. Thirty inpatients with AUD (22 males, 40.4 ± 10.5 years, illness duration = 9.7 ± 9.3 years) and 30 age-, gender- and body mass index (BMI)-matched healthy controls were included. All participants performed the Eurofit test battery and the International Physical Activity Questionnaire. Patients also completed the Positive Affect and Negative Affect Scale (PANAS) and Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT). The PANAS positive and negative scores were 30.1 ± 7.5 and 27.6 ± 8.2; the AUDIT score was 27.3 ± 7.0. Patients with AUD had a reduced whole body balance (flamingo balance test: 12.1 ± 5.1 vs. 8.7 ± 3.9 attempts; p = 0.005), speed of limb movement (plate tapping: 13.3 ± 2.7 vs. 11.6 ± 2.2 s, p = 0.007), explosive leg muscle strength (standing broad jump: 151.8 ± 34.9 vs. 174.2 ± 33.7 cm; p = 0.01), abdominal muscular endurance (sit-ups: 15.9 ± 5.7 vs. 19.8 ± 7.1; p = 0.02), and running speed (shuttle run: 25.4 ± 4.5 vs. 23.1 ± 4.0 s). Patients with AUD were also significantly less physically active than healthy controls (1020.9 ± 578.8 vs. 1738.7 ± 713.3 MET-minutes/week; p < 0.001). Backward regression analyses demonstrated that older age and higher BMI explained lower physical fitness levels, whereas longer illness duration and impaired explosive muscle strength explained lower total physical activity levels. The current findings suggest that lower physical fitness and physical activity are emerging as prominent modifiable risk factors in patients with AUD. Future research should explore the benefits of specific rehabilitation interventions aimed at increasing physical activity and physical fitness in this vulnerable group.

Test-retest reliability and clinical correlates of the Eurofit test battery in people with alcohol use disorders.

People with alcohol use disorder (AUD) are at an increased risk for cardiovascular diseases (CVD). Physical fitness is a predictor of CVD and premature mortality. Currently, no existing measures of physical fitness used in the general population have been tested for validity and reliability in this vulnerable population. Therefore, we examined the reproducibility, feasibility and correlates of the Eurofit test battery in this population. From 32 men (age = 40.8 ±â€¯13.8years; illness duration = 10.2 ±â€¯10.3years; body mass index, BMI = 24.8 ±â€¯3.8) and 13 women (age = 41.9 ±â€¯12.1years; illness duration = 13.7 ±â€¯13.1years; BMI = 26.3 ±â€¯4.9) with AUD two trials of the Eurofit test, administered within one week, were analyzed. All patients also completed the International Physical Activity Questionnaire, the Positive Affect and Negative Affect Scale and Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test. All Eurofit items showed good reproducibility with intraclass correlation coefficients ranging from 0.82 for the flamingo balance test to 0.97 for the standing broad jump and handgrip strength tests. Better performance on Eurofit test items was associated with younger age, a shorter illness duration, a lower BMI and higher physical activity levels. The current study demonstrates that the Eurofit test can be recommended as a reliable test for evaluating the physical fitness of inpatients with alcohol use disorder.

Motives for physical activity in the adoption and maintenance of physical activity in men with alcohol use disorders.

Within the self-determination theory and the trans-theoretical model (stages of change) frameworks, we investigated motives for physical activity adoption and maintenance in men with alcohol use disorder (AUD). Fifty Ugandan patients completed the Behavioral Regulation in Exercise Questionnaire-3 (BREQ-3) to assess exercise motives, the Patient-centred Assessment and Counselling for Exercise (PACE) to determine stage of change and the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test. The relationship between motives for physical activity and stage of change was investigated using ANOVA with post-hoc Scheffe tests. Multivariate analyses found significantly higher levels of introjected, identified and integrated motivation in the action and maintenance stage versus the pre-action stage. There were no differences in intrinsic motivation between the stages of change. Our results suggest that in order to adopt and maintain an active lifestyle the most important source of motivation comes from the benefits that may be obtained rather than from the inherent pleasure or challenge associated with it. The study provides a platform for future research to investigate the importance of autonomous motivation within physical activity interventions for people with AUD.