Examining Self-Reported Physical Activity Levels Among Kidney Disease Patients in the United States Using the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) Database: A Retrospective Study.

Abstract

Kidney diseases have a gradual and subtle onset, which usually results in end-stage renal disease with patients requiring renal replacement therapy. Though pharmacotherapy plays a crucial role, integrating lifestyle modifications like increased physical exercise has been associated with significant improvement in health for kidney disease patients. This study aims to retrospectively analyze the prevalence of self-reported physical activity among patients of kidney disease in the United States, based on demographic, socioeconomic, and healthcare access variables for the year 2021. Data was extracted from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Web Enabled Analysis Tool (BRFSS WEAT) for the year 2021. Descriptive data, including numbers and percentages, was generated for each variable using cross-tabulations in the BRFSS WEAT. The data was stored in Microsoft Excel (Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, WA, USA), and statistical analysis was conducted using R version 4.3.1 (R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria, https://www.R-project.org/). Statistical tests employed included the Chi-square test and Fisher's exact test to ensure robust and reliable results. A total of 436,057 people participated in the BRFSS study. Out of this, 17,054 (39%) self-identified to the question "ever told you had kidney disease." In the past month, 10,004 (58.7%) participants having kidney disease were involved in physical activity, whereas 7,050 (41.3%) were not. Also, the level of physical activity among kidney disease participants was highest in ages 18-25 (75.5%), male gender (63.6%), White non-Hispanic race (59.4%), patients having advanced education (64.2%), employed (72.6%), high income (82.1%), and having routine checkup within the past one year (8,957, 58.3%). Kidney disease patients in the United States who self-reported physical activity were found to have statistical significance between various demographic, socioeconomic, and last routine checkup variables. Prospectively, interventions must be designed to increase physical activity among kidney disease patients with a focus on high-risk demographic groups like older adults, people with lower socioeconomic status, and people who don't get regular checkups.