Physical Activity Reduces Disease-Related Fatigue And Depression By Increasing S

[Guest guest]

Physical Activity Reduces Disease-Related Fatigue And Depression By Increasing

Self-Efficacy Or Mastery

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/174252.php

Researchers in the US studying people with chronic diseases found that physical

activity may reduce depression and fatigue by increasing self-efficacy, or the

belief that one can master physical goals and attain a sense of accomplishment

from applying oneself.

These were the findings of a study by lead author Dr McAuley, a professor

of kinesiology and community health at the University of Illinois in Champaign,

and colleagues, and appears in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine.

A person's self-efficacy is the belief they can attain a certain goal: an

example of my self-efficacy would be that I believe I can climb several flights

of stairs or jog around the block without stopping.

While there is lots of evidence that physical activity influences wellbeing, the

reason why is less well understood.

McAuley told the media that:

" Physically active individuals have an increased sense of accomplishment, or

situation-specific self-confidence, which in turn results in reduced depression

and reduced fatigue. "

Many studies have already shown that physical activity reduces depression and

fatigue in people struggling with chronic illness; what is new about this study

is the suggestion that this may stem from a person's self efficacy: their sense

of mastery over, or belief in his or her ability to achieve, certain physical

goals.

" We base our arguments on fatigue being a symptom of depression, " said

McAuley.

" Interventions to reduce depression have consistently resulted in reductions in

fatigue. The opposite is not always the case, " he added, explaining that

previous studies have shown that increasing physical activity also increases

self-efficacy, and that this effect is almost immediate.

He said that studies have also shown that changes in people's self-efficacy

affects their levels of depression and fatigue.

McAuley and colleagues decided to explore the extent to which self-efficacy

influences the link between increased physical activity and reduced depression

and fatigue.

" Our argument was that physically active individuals would have higher

self-efficacy, which in turn would result in reduced depression and reduced

fatigue, " said McAuley.

For this piece of research they analyzed data from two published studies

covering people affected by chronic diseases: one focused on 192 breast cancer

survivors and the other focused on 292 people with multiple sclerosis (MS).

Both studies had asked participants to fill in questionnaires but used different

measures of health status, physical activity, self-efficacy, depression and

fatigue. The second study (the group with MS) also had extra data on physical

activity measured from accelerometers that the participants wore during waking

hours for seven days. This study also tested all measures again after six

months.

Because they were looking not only at how one variable related to another (eg

physical activity and fatigue) but also at how an intervening variable

(self-efficacy) might affect those variables directly and indirectly, the

researchers conducted a cross-sectional path analysis in the case of the breast

cancer survivors, and and a longitudinal panel model in the case of the

participant with MS, both " within a covariance modeling framework " .

The results showed that:

Physical activity had a direct effect on self-efficacy in both groups.

In turn, self-efficacy had " both a direct effect on fatigue and an indirect

effect through depressive symptomatology in both samples " .

However, controlling for the effect of self-efficacy on depression and fatigue

led to a significant reduction in the influence of physical activity on both

depression and fatigue.

Accounting for potential confounders like demographics and health status did not

change the statistical significance of these links.

McAuley and colleagues concluded that the findings show:

" Support for at least one set of psychosocial pathways from physical activity to

fatigue, an important concern in chronic disease. "

" Subsequent work might replicate such associations in other diseased populations

and attempt to determine whether model relations change with physical activity

interventions, and the extent to which other known correlates of fatigue, such

as impaired sleep and inflammation, can be incorporated into this model, " they

added.

McAuley said that the study showed that the effect of physical activity on

mastery experiences provides a possible explanation for the relationship between

physical activity and reductions in fatigue in breast-cancer survivors and

people with MS. " That sense of accomplishment, or situation-specific

self-confidence, serves to reduce depression, which in turn reduces fatigue, " he

said, adding that increasing self-efficacy also reduces fatigue directly, he

said.

McAuley said this meant that programs to increase physical activity should

include steps to enhance self-efficacy, which in turn would enhance wellbeing.

" Physical Activity and Fatigue in Breast Cancer and Multiple Sclerosis:

Psychosocial Mechanisms. "

McAuley, Siobhan M. White, Q. , W. Motl, and Kerry S.

Courneya.

Psychosom Med Published online in advance of print, November 30, 2009.

DOI: 10.1097/PSY.0b013e3181c68157

[Guest guest]

I found this article fascinating and supported by my own experience. I just

never knew that there was a name for the sense of accomplishment I get from

swimming every day, and the positive effect it has on my mental health. I have

CMT 2 and use a walker when I take off my braces to get to the pool, so my

disability is obvious. People always ask if my exercise routine improves my

symptoms, and I tell them probabaly not since CMT is a degenerative disease, but

it's good for my mental health. I also have had two bouts of breast cancer and

everyone comments on my positive attitude. Who knew it was the sense of " self

efficacy " I get from exercise?

Donna in New Hampshire