Physical activity participation is associated with higher quality of life scores in men with alcohol use disorders: a study from Uganda

BACKGROUND: There is a growing recognition of the importance of encouraging people with alcohol use disorders (AUD) to become more active as an achievable strategy to reduce the disability-associated burden. OBJECTIVE: We investigated whether physical activity and sedentary behaviour in men with AUD contribute to their quality of life (QoL). METHODS: Fifty male Ugandan inpatients with AUD (33.0±10.7 years) completed the World Health Organization Quality of Life Assessment brief version, Simple Physical Activity Questionnaire and the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test while waist circumference, body mass index and blood pressure were assessed. Linear multiple regression analysis explored the total variance in QoL explained by all predictor variables. RESULTS: SIMPAQ walking and SIMPAQ exercise explained 46% of the variability in physical QoL, 45% of the variability in psychological QoL, and 40% of the variability in environmental QoL. The SIMPAQ walking score predicted 37% of the variability in social QoL. CONCLUSION: The current findings suggest that higher levels of walking and exercising are associated with a better QoL. Our study therefore provides a platform for future research to investigate the role of physical activity on QoL levels in people with AUD, also in low resourced settings in low-income countries such as Uganda.