During the lockdown period of the COVID-19 pandemic, participant-reported physical activity (PA) either did not change or decreased among people with moderate to severe hemophilia (PwMSH), according to research published in Haemophilia.

The first phase of the Irish Personalised Approach to the Treatment of Haemophilia (iPATH) study suggested that PwMSH are less likely to be physically active than are members of the general population. For this follow-up to the iPATH study, researchers evaluated self-reported and accelerometer-measured PA among PwMSH to determine whether PA levels had changed since the first phase of iPATH, and whether the COVID-19 pandemic affected participant PA levels.

Overall data from 30 PwMSH were included. In this cohort, 23 patients had hemophilia A and 7 patients had hemophilia B, the median age was 47 years, 86.7% of patients had severe disease, and 83.3% of patients were receiving prophylaxis at baseline.

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The overall median follow-up time was 2.99 years. Analysis showed that accelerometer-measured data did not show significant differences over the study period, though more participants achieved World Health Organization-recommended levels of PA.

Most participants (76.7% and 66.7%, respectively) reported increased self-awareness of PA and desires to become more physically active — though most participants also reported no differences or decreased PA during the COVID-19 lockdown period.

“Future qualitative studies of this nature should capture the perspectives of patients, their families and caregivers, as well as those of multi-disciplinary haemophilia healthcare providers,” the authors wrote in their report.

Disclosure: Some study authors declared affiliations with biotech, pharmaceutical, or device companies. Please see the original reference for a full list of authors’ disclosures. 

Reference

Kennedy M, Roche S, McGowan M, et al. A cross-sectional follow-up study of physical activity in adults with moderate and severe haemophilia. Haemophilia. Published online March 13, 2023. doi:10.1111/hae.14775

Topics:

Bleeding Disorders COVID19 Hemophilia