Subjective factors of depressive symptoms, ambulation, pain, and fatigue are associated with physical activity participation in cardiac arrest survivors with fatigue

AIM: This study aimed to examine the associations between participation in physical activities and objective and subjective factors modifiable by rehabilitation in cardiac arrest survivors with fatigue. METHODS: Participants in a clinical feasibility study (N = 19) completed several subjective (patient-reported) and objective outcome measures on one occasion only. The associations between an individual's level of participation in physical activities (Participation Objective Participation Subjective) and their levels of cognition (Computer Assessment of Mild Cognitive Impairment), body movement (Keitel Functional Test), depressive symptoms (Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale), ambulation and pain (Health Utilities Index Mark 3), and fatigue impact (Modified Fatigue Impact Scale) were explored. Pearson’s correlation coefficientr was calculated for all associations, except for body movement (Spearman’s correlation coefficient r(s)). RESULTS: As hypothesized, we found weak-to-moderate, positive associations between participation in physical activities and objective factors of cognition (r = 0.370) and body movement (r(s) = 0.414) and a subjective factor of ambulation ability (r = 0.501). We found moderate, negative associations between participation in physical activities and subjective factors of depressive symptoms (r=-0.590), pain (r=-0.495), physical fatigue impact (r=-0.629), cognitive fatigue impact (r=-0.591), and psychosocial fatigue impact (r=-0.557). CONCLUSION: The moderate, negative and positive associations between participation in physical activities and subjective factors suggest that subjective complaints of depressive symptoms, ambulation ability, pain, and fatigue impact may be important factors when seeking to improve participation in physical activities. In particular, addressing physical and cognitive endurance as well as perceptions of fatigue may hold the key to increasing physical activity in cardiac arrest survivors with fatigue.