title: The impact of a ten-week physical exercise program on health-related quality of life in patients with inflammatory bowel disease: a prospective randomized controlled trial.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Improving health-related quality of life is a primary target of therapy for patients with inflammatory bowel disease. Physical activity has been demonstrated to improve health-related quality of life in several patient populations with chronic disease. There are very few studies investigating the effects of physical activity on health-related quality of life in inflammatory bowel disease. The primary purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of 10 weeks of moderate physical activity on health-related quality of life in patients with inflammatory bowel disease.
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirty patients with mild to moderate IBD (Crohn's Disease Activity Index (CDAI) <220 or Rachmilewitz Index (RI) <11) were randomized 1:1 to either supervised moderate-intensity running thrice a week for 10 weeks or a control group who were not prescribed any exercise. Health-related quality of life, symptoms, and inflammation were assessed at baseline and after 10 weeks.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Participants were 41 ± 14 years (73% female), had a body mass index of 22.8 ± 4.1 kg/m(2), and an average CDAI or RI of 66.8 ± 42.4 and 3.6 ± 3.1. No adverse events occurred during the 10-week training period. Health-related quality of life, reported as IBDQ total score, improved 19% in the intervention group and 8% in the control group. Scores for the IBDQ social sub-scale were significantly improved in the intervention group compared with controls (ΔIBDQsocial = 6.27 ± 5.46 vs. 1.87 ± 4.76, p = 0.023).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Patients suffering from moderately active IBD are capable of performing symptom-free regular endurance exercise. Our data support the assumption that PA is feasible in IBD patients. PA may furthermore improve quality of life through improvements in social well-being, and may, therefore, be a useful adjunct to IBD therapy.
authors.affiliation: II. Medizinische Klinik, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technischen Universität München, München, Germany.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Klare
authors.forename: Johanna
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Nigg
authors.forename: Johannes
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Nold
authors.forename: Bernhard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Haller
authors.forename: Anne B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Krug
authors.forename: Sebastian
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mair
authors.forename: Christoph K
authors.initials: CK
authors.lastname: Thoeringer
authors.forename: Jeffrey W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Christle
authors.forename: Roland M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Schmid
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Halle
authors.forename: Wolfgang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Huber
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005081:Exercise Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D015212:Inflammatory Bowel Diseases / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011788:Quality of Life; D012420:Running; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors