People with Stroke Are Most Sedentary in the Afternoon and Evening.

QUESTIONS

What are the daily temporal patterns of movement behaviours (sedentary time, light-intensity physical activity, and moderate-vigorous physical activity) in people with stroke? Do daily temporal patterns of sedentary time differ (a) between subgroups of people with different movement behaviour classifications and (b) over time during the first year after stroke?

DESIGN

This study represents secondary exploratory analyses from an observational, longitudinal cohort study (n = 197).

PARTICIPANTS

This study included people with first-ever stroke recruited from 4 hospitals in the Netherlands.

OUTCOME MEASURES

Movement behaviour was objectively measured using the Activ8 activity monitor within 3 weeks after hospital discharge and again at 6 and 12 months later.

RESULTS

Participants spent the least time sedentary in the morning with proportionally more sedentary time as the day progressed with maximal sedentary time seen in the evening hours. This pattern did not substantially change over time. Sedentary prolongers spent significantly more absolute time sedentary for each hour of the day, but the daily temporal pattern of sedentary time did not differ between this group and either "sedentary movers" or "sedentary exercisers."

CONCLUSION

People living at home after stroke are highly sedentary, particularly in the afternoons and evenings, and this pattern does not change during the first year after stroke. Clinicians should encourage people with stroke to find meaningful tasks to do during the day to reduce their sitting time. Researchers developing interventions to encourage people to sit less should include particular focus on the afternoon and evening time periods.

© 2022 S. Karger AG, Basel.