title: Differences in sedentary time and physical activity between female patients with fibromyalgia and healthy controls: the al-Ándalus project.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To characterize the levels of objectively measured time spent in sedentary activities (sedentary time) and physical activities in female patients with fibromyalgia and compare them with the levels in age-matched healthy control women.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study comprised 413 female patients with fibromyalgia (mean ± SD age 51.9 ± 7.4 years) and 188 female control subjects (age 50.9 ± 7.5 years). Sedentary time, the amount of time spent engaged in physical activity, and step counts were measured using triaxial accelerometry. The amounts of time (minutes/day) during which the participants were engaged in sedentary behaviors as well as in physical activity of different intensities (light, moderate, and moderate-to-vigorous) and the step counts were calculated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The amount of time spent in sedentary behavior was longer in patients with fibromyalgia compared with controls (estimated mean ± SEM difference 39 ± 8 minutes/day; P < 0.001). The patients with fibromyalgia spent less time than controls engaged in light physical activity (mean ± SEM difference -21 ± 7 minutes/day; P = 0.005), moderate physical activity (mean ± SEM difference -17 ± 3 minutes/day; P < 0.001), and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (mean ± SEM difference -19 ± 3 minutes/day; P < 0.001). The patients with fibromyalgia took fewer steps/day compared with the control subjects (mean ± SEM difference -1,881 ± 262 steps/day; P < 0.001). Only 20.6% of the patients with fibromyalgia and 46.3% of the control subjects fulfilled the recommendation for 150 minutes/week of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity in bouts of at least 10 minutes/bout (χ(2)  = 41.8, P < 0.001). Similarly, only 16.0% of the patients fulfilled the recommendation for ≥10,000 steps/day compared with 44.7% of the control subjects (χ(2)  = 56.8, P < 0.001). Both the patients and the control subjects were more active (physical activity of all intensities and numbers of steps) on weekdays than on weekend days (all P ≤ 0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Female patients with fibromyalgia spent more time in sedentary behaviors and were less physically active than age-matched controls. The low proportions of female patients with fibromyalgia and control subjects who met the physical activity and step count recommendations is worrisome.
authors.affiliation: University of Granada, Granada, Spain.
authors.forename: Víctor
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Segura-Jiménez
authors.affiliation: University of Granada, Granada, Spain.
authors.forename: Inmaculada C
authors.initials: IC
authors.lastname: Álvarez-Gallardo
authors.affiliation: University of Granada, Granada, Spain, and Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Fernando
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Estévez-López
authors.affiliation: University of Granada, Granada, Spain.
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Soriano-Maldonado
authors.affiliation: University of Granada, Granada, Spain.
authors.forename: Manuel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Delgado-Fernández
authors.affiliation: University of Granada, Granada, Spain.
authors.forename: Francisco B
authors.initials: FB
authors.lastname: Ortega
authors.affiliation: University of Granada, Granada, Spain, and VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Virginia A
authors.initials: VA
authors.lastname: Aparicio
authors.affiliation: University of Cádiz, Cádiz, Spain.
authors.forename: Ana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Carbonell-Baeza
authors.affiliation: University of Porto, Porto, Portugal.
authors.forename: Jorge
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mota
authors.affiliation: University of Porto, Porto, Portugal.
authors.forename: Pedro
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Silva
authors.affiliation: University of Granada, Granada, Spain.
authors.forename: Jonatan R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Ruiz
mesh_terms: D061725:Accelerometry; D000328:Adult; D015444:Exercise / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D005356:Fibromyalgia / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000502:physiology*; D057185:Sedentary Behavior