Feasibility of Long-Term Physical Activity Measurement With a Wearable Activity Tracker in Patients With Axial Spondyloarthritis: 1-Year Longitudinal Observational Study.

Abstract

Background: Using wearable activity trackers shows promise in measuring physical activity in patients with axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA). However, little is known regarding the feasibility of long-term use.

Objectives: This study aimed to explore the feasibility of recording physical activity using a wearable activity tracker and describe wear-time patterns among patients with axSpA.

Methods: Data from a randomized controlled trial (NCT: 05031767) were analyzed. Patients with axSpA and low disease activity were recruited from an outpatient clinic and asked to wear a Garmin vívosmart 4 activity tracker for 1 year. The activity tracker measured steps and heart rate. Trial feasibility (eligibility, inclusion rate, and patient characteristics), technical feasibility (data recorded, tracker adherence, ie, days worn, and missing data), and operational feasibility (synchronization reminders and tracker replacements) were analyzed. Tracker adherence was calculated as the percentage of recorded minutes of the maximum possible minutes. Unsupervised hierarchical clustering was used to explore tracker wear-time patterns.

Results: Of the 160 patients screened, 75 (47%) agreed to use the tracker and 64 (85%) were analyzed (11 had insufficient data). The median activity tracker adherence over 1 year was 66% (IQR 30-86). There was 30% missing step and 0.01% heart rate data in the physical activity dataset. A median of 18 (IQR 9-25) reminders per patient to synchronize activity data were distributed. Analysis of wear-time patterns resulted in 3 groups: Adherent (33/64, 51% of patients), Minimal Use (17/64, 27%), and Intermittently adherent (14/64, 22%).

Conclusions: Trial feasibility was low, while technical and operational feasibility were acceptable. Only 51% of the patients were highly adherent. Activity trackers, though trendy, have low to moderate feasibility over 1 year in patients with axSpA. Automated synchronization and adherence barriers should be further explored.